Marital rape isn't actually legal in Afghanistan. And to my knowledge it isn't legal in Pakistan either. Both countries run on Sharia Law and the Qaran forbids abusing your wife sexually. But Afghanistan is still very Middle Ages in many ways. I can't speak intimately about the other countries on the list. Judges often rule in favour of wives in different instances, but the onus is usually on the woman to "suck it up honey, men are the boss" once the marriage is concrete, especially with people who were heavily influenced by Wahhabbism during the taliban reign. (Not in my marriage though, as my hubby found out pretty quick) And it also depends on where in the country too. There must be huge loopholes in the legal constructs on top of assorted uneducated and ignorant officials. Which is common in underdeveloped countries especially in rural areas, where convention and personal beliefs may be the main motivator in rulings, rather than actual law, or maybe the other way around. The judges are men, women are oppressed, there is no denying it. Oh hell. Let's call a spade a spade and say the countries are corrupt as hell. Most Afghans would totally agree. Well. I have another ugly project to start. But someone has to do it. I can get info from Amnesty too. They're good like that even though their info is sometimes used out of context. Thanks for the starting point.
No worries. Quite a few Arab and North African countries also have laws which require a rapist to marry his victim and by doing so, he avoids punishment. The victim usually has no say in this. These laws are slowly becoming less common, but there is still an ingrained cultural expectation.
It is very hard to outlaw something that is culturally acceptable. Even in European countries, many poll respondents don't believe it is possible for a husband to rape his wife/or are unaware that it is been made crime (lots of laws outlawing marital rape are only a couple of decades old, if that).
I saw a documentary about people in jail in Afghanistan, both men and women, who were there for having sex before marriage. They had to get married before they could be released, in the jail. I think the emphasis of on the "sin" of pre-marital sex comes from the fact that a baby may come from it. So it somewhat protects women from becoming single mothers. I would say marrying your rapist is a skewed version of this logic. Sickening isn't it? I've found I get a deeper understanding of my own culture when I research these things. We still see the lingering effects of gender inequality in many situations.
There is also the problem of multiple marriages. You have to have a good reason by law to take another wife, but it's often easy to find a reason. Having more than one wife is a kindness if you are able to provide for them and treat them equally, in countries with over whelming poverty, no welfare system and high risk of being killed. But I haven't seen too many examples of this. It seems to be used more to legitimise a man dipping his wick in another woman. Lust, not love... ergo anti-Islam. Once a man sees this happen to his sister, and sees the heartbreak that taking another wife can cause, it often changes his mind about his right to take several wives. In good men this happens anyway.
We have a long way to go don't we? I was asked to go to a very dangerous place in Afghanistan and work as an adviser for the Minister for Women's affairs. The job of Minister lasts maximum 2 years, because every Minister has been killed by the time the 2 year mark passes. The way I am I may as well run around in Kandaher covered in tinsel shouting "I'm an infidel shoot me." So I declined. Can't help if I'm dead.
Marital rape isn't actually legal in Afghanistan. And to my knowledge it isn't legal in Pakistan either. Both countries run on Sharia Law and the Qaran forbids abusing your wife sexually. But Afghanistan is still very Middle Ages in many ways. I can't speak intimately about the other countries on the list. Judges often rule in favour of wives in different instances, but the onus is usually on the woman to "suck it up honey, men are the boss" once the marriage is concrete, especially with people who were heavily influenced by Wahhabbism during the taliban reign. (Not in my marriage though, as my hubby found out pretty quick) And it also depends on where in the country too. There must be huge loopholes in the legal constructs on top of assorted uneducated and ignorant officials. Which is common in underdeveloped countries especially in rural areas, where convention and personal beliefs may be the main motivator in rulings, rather than actual law, or maybe the other way around. The judges are men, women are oppressed, there is no denying it. Oh hell. Let's call a spade a spade and say the countries are corrupt as hell. Most Afghans would totally agree. Well. I have another ugly project to start. But someone has to do it. I can get info from Amnesty too. They're good like that even though their info is sometimes used out of context. Thanks for the starting point.
No worries. Quite a few Arab and North African countries also have laws which require a rapist to marry his victim and by doing so, he avoids punishment. The victim usually has no say in this. These laws are slowly becoming less common, but there is still an ingrained cultural expectation.
It is very hard to outlaw something that is culturally acceptable. Even in European countries, many poll respondents don't believe it is possible for a husband to rape his wife/or are unaware that it is been made crime (lots of laws outlawing marital rape are only a couple of decades old, if that).
I saw a documentary about people in jail in Afghanistan, both men and women, who were there for having sex before marriage. They had to get married before they could be released, in the jail. I think the emphasis of on the "sin" of pre-marital sex comes from the fact that a baby may come from it. So it somewhat protects women from becoming single mothers. I would say marrying your rapist is a skewed version of this logic. Sickening isn't it? I've found I get a deeper understanding of my own culture when I research these things. We still see the lingering effects of gender inequality in many situations.
There is also the problem of multiple marriages. You have to have a good reason by law to take another wife, but it's often easy to find a reason. Having more than one wife is a kindness if you are able to provide for them and treat them equally, in countries with over whelming poverty, no welfare system and high risk of being killed. But I haven't seen too many examples of this. It seems to be used more to legitimise a man dipping his wick in another woman. Lust, not love... ergo anti-Islam. Once a man sees this happen to his sister, and sees the heartbreak that taking another wife can cause, it often changes his mind about his right to take several wives. In good men this happens anyway.
We have a long way to go don't we? I was asked to go to a very dangerous place in Afghanistan and work as an adviser for the Minister for Women's affairs. The job of Minister lasts maximum 2 years, because every Minister has been killed by the time the 2 year mark passes. The way I am I may as well run around in Kandaher covered in tinsel shouting "I'm an infidel shoot me." So I declined. Can't help if I'm dead.