the new law appears to legalize spousal rape, to require women to get their husband’s permission to leave the house, work or visit the doctor

TO BE NOTED: From the UN:

"About that Abusive New Law in Afghanistan

UN Dispatch Salon: After the Gag Rule

April 3, 2009 - 3:11pm

In response to this question Michelle Goldberg said:

Since we've been discussing the role of the United States in fostering women's sexual and reproductive rights worldwide, I'm curious as to what others think the US should do about the new Shia Personal Status law in Afghanistan. As most of you no doubt know, the new law appears to legalize spousal rape, to require women to get their husband’s permission to leave the house, work or visit the doctor, and to grant child custody to fathers and grandfathers, a provision that will further entrap women in abusive situations. On Thursday the Associated Press quoted one provision stating that a woman is “bound to preen for her husband as and when he desires,” and that a husband has the right to sex with his wife every four nights. “Unless the wife is ill or has any kind of illness that intercourse could aggravate, the wife is bound to give a positive response to the sexual desires of her husband."

In Canada, the government has pledged to exert direct pressure on Afghanistan to jettison it, but the US seems to be approaching it with more circumspection. Which, of course, is not surprising -- I spoke to someone in Kabul early this morning who told me that Shia leaders are outraged over the international condemnation. The US, needing allies against Al Qaeda and the Taliban, surely doesn't want to be seen as meddling in Afghanistan's internal affairs. Still, Hillary Clinton promised to put women's rights at the center of American foreign policy, and it seems to me that if our government is serious, it can't just uphold them when it's convenient or uncontroversial.

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Suicide bombings and other attacks have killed more than 4,000 people in Pakistan in the past two years.

TO BE NOTED: From Bloomberg:

"Pakistani Militants Razed 100 Girls’ Schools on Border, UN Says

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By Michael Heath

April 2 (Bloomberg) -- Militants in Pakistan blew up more than 100 girls’ schools in the tribal region bordering Afghanistan last year as part of a campaign to deny women a role in the country’s future, the United Nations said.

Months of attacks in Pakistan on educational institutions, teachers and students have created a “shocking situation” where parents are refusing to send their daughters to school, said Koichiro Matsuura, director-general of the UN’s Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization.

The border region has become a base for Taliban and al- Qaeda militants since U.S.-led forces toppled the Taliban regime in neighboring Afghanistan in late 2001. Suicide bombings and other attacks have killed more than 4,000 people in Pakistan in the past two years.

The lawlessness spread to the Swat Valley northwest of the capital, Islamabad, during the past year, where the government signed a peace deal with Taliban militants in February allowing for Islamic law in the former tourist area.

What was once the “Switzerland of Pakistan” has become its Beirut, Pakistan’s envoy to Washington Husain Haqqani said earlier this year, referring to years of strife in Lebanon’s capital.

Taliban militants have attacked 169 girls’ schools in the Swat district since July, state media reported in January. Last week, a suicide attacker bombed a girls’ school in southwestern Baluchistan province.

While the peace accord in Swat “theoretically” allows girls to return to school, Matsuura said “fear still reigns” among parents and many teachers have fled the region in recent weeks.

He said Pakistan’s government must ensure that its commitment to “Education for All” includes guaranteed access to schools for girls, according to a statement on the UN’s Web site yesterday.

“A strong signal must be sent so that everyone can once more benefit from education, which is a determining factor for their future and for the future of the country,” he added."

hese women had "loose morals" and were rightfully shot by male relatives in honor killings.

TO BE NOTED: From the Hub:

"Chechnya: “Honor killings” defended by President Kadyrov

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Violeta_VAW_Honor_Killings.flv (12mb)

By: Violeta Krasnic

Posted: Mar 16 09

In November 2008, bodies of seven young women with gunshot wounds to the head were discovered dumped by roadsides in and around the Chechen capital Gtozny. Chechen human rights commissioner was quoted saying that murdered women "have forgotten the mountain women's code of behavior" and that their male relatives "feel they have been insulted and sometimes take the law into their own hands." While Chechen President Kadyrov initially called the killings "outrageous," the Associated Press reported him saying in February 2009 that these women had "loose morals" and were rightfully shot by male relatives in honor killings.

But as those fighting against misuse of religion and culture to justify violence would tell us: "There is no honor in killing!" This is the interview with Chechen activists Gistam Sakayeva who works to defend rights of women. She describes the culture surrounding killings of women in Checnhya and provides concrete suggestions on how to respond to this type of violence."