Proposed Afghan law protects men who abuse women and girls

[unhappycamper]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/02/04/proposed-afghan-law-protects-men-who-abuse-women-and-girls/



Proposed Afghan law protects men who abuse women and girls
By Agence France-Presse
Tuesday, February 4, 2014 11:40 EST

An international rights group said Tuesday that Afghan President Hamid Karzai should refuse to sign a law passed by parliament that would deny women protection from domestic violence and forced marriage.

Afghanistan’s parliament, a two-chamber house dominated by conservative clerics and former Islamist warlords, passed a “criminal procedure law” last year which experts say contains articles that deny women legal protections.

New York-based Human Rights Watch said the bill “is expected to be sent to Karzai for final signature into law within weeks, if not earlier” and called on the war-torn nation’s leader to send the bill back to legislators with amendments.

“President Karzai should reject a law that will effectively let batterers of women and girls off the hook” HRW said in a statement, quoting its Asia director Brad Adams.