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Afghanistan MPs to debate law on women's rights Afghan parliament halts debate on women's rights law
(about 5 hours later)
Afghan MPs are to debate a law to prevent violence against women, amid a fierce argument between leading Afghan women over tactics. A debate by Afghan MPs about beefing up a law to prevent violence against women has been halted amid angry scenes.
Parliament's speaker ended the debate after 15 minutes after traditionalists called for the law to be scrapped.
A law banning violence against women, child marriages and forced marriages was passed by presidential decree in 2009, but did not gain MPs' approval.A law banning violence against women, child marriages and forced marriages was passed by presidential decree in 2009, but did not gain MPs' approval.
Some want the law set in concrete through a parliamentary vote, fearing it could be repealed in the future. Hundreds of people have been jailed under the current law, introduced by President Hamid Karzai.
But other rights activists fear the debate may weaken current legislation. 'Lack of assurance'
Last time the issue of violence against women was raised in the Afghan parliament, a fight broke out as fundamentalists tried to block the discussion of reforms. The decision to seek parliamentary approval for the law had split women activists.
Hard-won progress Some had said opening it up for debate in parliament could pave the way for conservatives to amend it and weaken protection for women - or even throw it out altogether.
Hundreds of people have been jailed under the current law, introduced by President Hamid Karzai in 2009. One of those against the move was prominent MP Farkhunda Zahra Naderi. She told the BBC after Saturday's events in parliament that her fears had been proved right.
However, leading MP Fawzia Koofi - who survived a Taliban ambush two years ago - wants it enshrined with parliamentary approval, worrying that otherwise it could be weakened as Afghanistan looks to pacify the Islamist Taliban movement. During the debate, mullahs and other traditionalist MPs accused President Karzai of acting against Islamic Sharia law by signing the decree in the first place, the BBC's David Loyn reports from Kabul.
"There is a lack of assurance that any president of Afghanistan will have any commitment to women's issues and in particular towards this decree," Ms Koofi told the BBC. In particular, they demanded a change to the law so that men cannot be prosecuted for rape within marriage, our correspondent said.
But a number of prominent women's rights activists believe that putting the law to parliament risks losing what they have gained, says the BBC's David Loyn in Kabul, as conservative fundamentalists could amend it to weaken protection for women - or even throw it out altogether. One of those who had sought to enshrine the decree with parliamentary approval is leading MP Fawzia Koofi, who survived a Taliban ambush two years ago.
Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission member Soraya Sobjang said: "Don't play with this law because this is an achievement. This is human rights value, and this belongs to all people of Afghanistan." She had worried that if the law did not have parliamentary backing it could be weakened as Afghan leaders attempt to pacify the Islamist Taliban movement.
Changing entrenched attitudes in Afghan villages over rights for women will take a long time, says our correspondent. "There is a lack of assurance that any president of Afghanistan will have any commitment to women's issues and in particular towards this decree," Ms Koofi told the BBC before the debate.
The issue raises strong passions in the country, he adds, and this debate could either endanger hard-won progress or - if the risk pays off - make that progress irreversible. President Karzai has come under fire from women's groups for frequently changing his position on women's rights.
In 2012, he endorsed a "code of conduct" issued by an influential council of clerics which allows husbands to beat wives under certain circumstances.
Ms Koofi and fellow activists have argued that the law is similar to those in many other Islamic countries.
The existing law will now remain in force while further discussions on procedure are held, our correspondent says.
Despite the efforts taken to enhance rights for women and girls in Afghanistan, child marriages remain common and stories of abuse keep coming to light.
Most Afghans still live in rural areas, where poverty, conflict and conservative attitudes are more likely to keep girls and women at home.