Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Domestic Violence And Rape: Legal Now In Afghanistan?

I will warn to anyone reading this post that I'm currently operating in a white-hot frothing rage. I will also point out for new readers that as a domestic violence survivor and personal assault survivor, my biases are probably almost definitely in play.

That careful diplomatic statement said, allow me to say,

What happened to that whole "We're protecting women's rights in Afghanistan" thing?

The Guardian has the story: "Worse than the Taliban? New Law Rolls Back Rights for Afghan Women"

Marital rape legalized, unless you have a "good excuse, like being sick or something"?
FUCK THAT.
You want to hear a good 'excuse'? It's called "I don't want to have sex with you". That's all the 'excuse' anyone should need. It's called consent. Marrying someone doesn't give it up. Nothing can give it up. That's the biggest violation I can possibly imagine. And yes, I have a personal stake in this, because that's what my command said to me the first time I went to them for help [Editor's note: not my current command], that you can't get abused like that by your husband.

This entire law is nothing but a careful veneer of civility on domestic violence. Like just because you marry someone ,they have a right to abuse you. They have a right to beat you. They have a right to take your money away. They have a right to force you not to leave the house. To /ask permission before you see the fucking doctor/, for god's sake. They have a right to rape you. If you didn't want it, you shouldn't have gotten married. Oh, and those kids? You can't get custody of them. Have fun waving goodbye to any human rights they'll have as you realize there is no escape.

And this is the Afghan government we support? The one we say is going to be the savior of human rights and women's rights? What the fuck have we accomplished? I understand not intervening in other governments and interrupting sovereignity, but this is OUR PUPPET GOVERNMENT! I mean, I don't support sock puppet governments, but if we're going to have one, if we're going to prop up Karzai on his tottering political legs, can we at least get some use out of his yes-man status to avoid crap like this? This is so vile, so utterly vile, I can't even comment on it civilly at the moment. Maybe later I'll work up something reasonable and rational for Military Pundits, I'm not going to rant quite this much at 1SG Grisham's "house". But can anyone view this without anger? Seriously?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Army Regulation 530--1: Operations Security (OPSEC) (.pdf) restricts more than just blogs, however. Previous editions of the rules asked Army personnel to "consult with their immediate supervisor" before posting a document "that might contain sensitive and/or critical information in a public forum." The new version, in contrast, requires "an OPSEC review prior to publishing" anything -- from "web log (blog) postings" to comments on internet message boards, from resumes to letters home.
Failure to do so, the document adds, could result in a court-martial, or "administrative, disciplinary, contractual, or criminal action."

Anonymous said...

The US needs to get out od Afghanistan as well.

Jen said...

Hmmm, legal rape is an OPSEC violation... its worse than I thought, they really ARE covering it up!

JuniorAG said...

BTDT x 2 to Afghanistan. I've talked to many a typical Afghan male & to them, Women = property.
Many admit to neither liking, nor trusting their Womenfolk.

Marc said...

So, this anonymous jackass, in trying to harrass the blogger, decides to post some bullshit rule without researching it?

Unless it deals with current military operations, a Soldier is entitled to writing about his opinion without consulting S-2 ...

Who the hell are these jackasses reading your blog anyway?

Anonymous said...

Do you think the American government or army could have done anything to prevent this? How do you feel the country can go about changing this?

Isabella said...

I have been researching the abuse of women within afghanistan for a while now. It is hard to believe that women undergo such violence within their home with no escape daily. The abusers, their own husbands, receive no punishment for what are crimes. These innocent women don't stand a chance. Nor are they given a fair chance. We are all human. I'm strongly against the way the Afghan government is being run. Rape, abuse, and forced marriages are a crime. Just because a women gives up her last name does not mean she gives up her rights. The rights to say no to her man is her human rights. Wake up people. We all have them. Women should not be discriminated upon based on their sex. We are all equal and we are all humans. Even though these crimes are comitted day after day nothing is being done. The world needs to change this. Help these suffering individuals.