Burqa chic

Originally published in Himal Southasian, August '09

To the relief of the international community – not to mention liberal Afghans – the Karzai government has backpeddled on the so-called 'anti-woman law.' This dark-age relic decreed that a Shia wife must to consent to sex as and when her husband desires. Marital rape was, effectively, to be legalised. Originally rushed trough parliament in February, and approved by President Hamid Karzai, the law was backed by influential Shia clerics and political parties. Many within Afghanistan, such as Member of Parliament Fawzia Koofi, criticised Karzai's decision as a ploy to win the crucial support of these (often extremist) Shia groups for the summer elections. But it was the overwhelming international response that led Karzai to order a review, which summarily dispensed with the law, along with an article that placed restrictions on a Shia women's freedom of movement – namely, confining her to her household.

To the Western powers, who had invested their money and their reputations in the war against the Taliban, it seemed as if all they had fought for – liberal governance, religious moderation, female emancipation – was being jettisoned by an irresponsible government in a cynical concession to a conservative vote-bank. The likes of Barack Obama, Gordon Brown and Nato Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, along with numerous influential aid agencies, wasted little time in condemning the legislation which, they understood, compromised the nascent government's authority over the Taliban – not to mention the civil liberties of the women themselves. To such Western leaders, whose patronage has kept the Karzai regime afloat throughout its short life, this was little short of impertinence.

Yet, despite the social and religious conservatism that prevails in Afghan society, the legislation was targeted only at a minority: the Shias, who make up 10% of the population. The government purportedly wished to preserve their particular, severe interpretation of Sharia in the face of Sunni hegemony. Aides to President Karzai insisted, in a dubious feat of logic, that the law would actually provide greater security to Sunni women, who have commonly been victims of domestic violence. So, more a case of perverse liberalism than an attempt to woo hardline votes. But such a move would only further ghettoize the Shia minority – wildly counterproductive in such a divided society as Afghanistan, where the national identity is largely subordinated to tribal allegiances. Consistent with this 'multi-cultural' ethos, which can only further undermine what little authority the Centre enjoys, the government is busy drawing up a separate family law for the Sunni majority. Only this time, they know the world is watching.