Posts Tagged ‘sharia law’

Amid mounting pressure from the West, Afghan President Hamid Karzai says his government will review a recently approved version of a law that critics say legalizes marital rape and the U.S. president has called "abhorrent." "We understand the concerns of our allies in the international community," Karzai told reporters Saturday. The minister of justice would study the draft, he said. "If there is anything that is of concern to us then we will definitely take action in consultation with our and send it back to the parliament," Karzai said. "This is something that we are also serious about and we should not allow." Karzai's news conference was in response to a series of news reports by Western media since the president signed the law last month. He specifically mentioned a March 31 story by London-based The Independent, which called the law "a massive blow for women's rights" and cited critics who said Karzai "rushed" the bill through parliament in hopes of appeasing Islamic fundamentalists ahead of August elections. Human rights groups and news reports consistently refer to a report from the U.N. Development Fund for Women which reportedly stated that the legislation -- a piece of Full story