Press Release: Afghanistan”s Criminal Prosecution Code Fiasco: Further Proof That Women’s Rights Will Never Be Safe Under The Defective Man Made Parliamentary System

On Monday 17th February, Afghan President Hamid Karzai blocked a law passed by the Afghan parliament that was to be inserted into a new criminal prosecution code. Many women’s activists argued that the new ruling would have silenced victims of domestic violence, forced marriages and abuse by barring relatives from testifying against each other, hence curbing prosecutions against abusive husbands or family members. Unsurprisingly condemnatory statements were issued by the European Union and Western states against the law whose ambiguity in wording has led to disagreements with regards to its exact interpretation and content. However, secular feminists, activists, and politicians have opportunistically exploited this latest shambolic episode in Afghan parliamentary politics to promote a fear-mongering narrative. This is that the so-called ‘hard-won gains’ made by Afghan women during the 12 years of Western occupation are set to be rolled back – as if gains have been achieved!

In regards to this, we would like to make the following points:
(1)    Afghan women have nothing to fear from the full withdrawal of Western troops from their soil, rather it should be championed. It was occupation by these very armies that resulted in the deaths, maiming, displacement and destruction of homes of tens of thousands of Afghan women and children as well as the violation of their dignity and sanctity of their houses through countless raids. It left a legacy of extreme poverty, lawlessness, and insecurity that continues to blight their lives.

(2)    The idea that Afghan women made real gains from a 12 year Western occupation and under a Western-installed regime and system is laughable and delusional. Other than securing a few token female parliamentary seats and a few more girls in school, the reality facing Afghan women is dismal. The Law on Elimination of Violence Against Women, CEDAW, and the National Action Plan for Women have proved futile in addressing the high levels of violence, abductions, rape of women, and non-Islamic tribal customs such as forced marriages that plagues the society. Furthermore, Afghanistan has the second highest maternal and child mortality rate in the world, and only a 14% female literacy rate. This living nightmare is the familiar lasting legacy of Western meddling within states.

(3)    Afghan women have nothing to fear from true Islamic rule. Rather it is the secular system that holds the greatest dangers. This prosecution code fiasco itself illustrates the chaotic, unpredictable nature of the parliamentary system. While secularists cry foul over this law, it is the very system they celebrate where people rather than Allah (swt) legislate that opens the doors to oppressive edicts against women, shaped upon the prejudices of those who govern. Under this man-made system, the absence of fixed laws means that justice and rights of women will be perpetually clouded in confusion and uncertainty with women placed at the mercy of the whimsical dictates of those who rule.

(4)    It is the full implementation of the Islamic Shariah laws under the Khilafah state where laws are fixed and from the Creator rather than the fickle minds of men that justice and the God-given educational, political, economic, and legal rights for women can be guaranteed with certainty and devoid of confusion and change. With regards to justice as an example, Allah (swt) says,

﴿يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ كُونُواْ قَوَّٲمِينَ بِٱلۡقِسۡطِ شُہَدَآءَ لِلَّهِ وَلَوۡ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِكُمۡ أَوِ ٱلۡوَٲلِدَيۡنِ وَٱلۡأَقۡرَبِينَ‌ۚ إِن يَكُنۡ غَنِيًّا أَوۡ فَقِيرًا۬
 “O you who believe! Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even though it be against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin be he rich or poor...” [TMQ An-Nisa: 135]

Furthermore, it is the re-invigoration through Islamic rule of the pure Islamic values within Afghan society, including the sacredness of the dignity of women that can eradicate oppressive tribal practices. We call Afghan women to give their full support to the re-establishment of this system of Allah (swt).

Dr. Nazreen Nawaz
Member of the Central Media Office
of Hizb ut Tahrir