Our Troops Are Dying For This Crap? ::: Afghan husbands allowed to starve their wives if she refuses sex

An Afghan bill permitting a husband to starve his wife if she refuses to have sex has become law as the country's president, Hamid Karzai, looks to seal victory in this Thursday's election.

The bill sparked international outrage when it was first introduced earlier this year, forcing Mr Karzai to back down.

But critics say the amended version of the law, brought into effect on July 27, remains highly repressive.

They accuse Mr Karzai of selling out Afghan women for the sake of conservative Shia support ahead of the presidential vote.

Female supporters of presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah, seen in poster at right, attend a campaign rally in Kabul, Afghanistan

Afghan presidential candidate and former foreign minister Dr Abdullah Abdullah releases helium filled balloons into the stadium during the last day of campaigning at a rally in Kabul

The law governs family life for Afghanistan's Shia minority, which make up about 15 per cent of the 30million population.

It allows a husband to withhold food from his wife if she refuses to submit to his sexual demands.

In the original version, Shia women were ordered to have sex with their husbands every four days.

It also removed the need for consent to sex within marriage, effectively condoning marital rape.

Now in the amended version of the same bill, a wife must also get her husband's permission to work. Fathers and grandfathers have also been awarded exclusive custody of the children.

President Hamid Karzai is said to have approved the 'marital rape' law to win over Shia supporters

The bill was passed quietly with the apparent approval of Mr Karzai.

The Afghan president's government has also agreed local 24-hour ceasefires with the Taliban ahead of the elections where he is the clear front runner with 45 per cent of the vote.

It is hoped the truces will let people vote and could even form the basis of permanent peace talks with the Taliban, the man in charge of reconciliation has said.

But ambushes and explosions are likely to continue until midnight on Wednesday.

Today security guards for Abdullah Abdullah, Karzai's former foreign minister and his main presidential rival, beat back enthusiastic supporters with rifle butts at the rally in Kabul's National Olympic Stadium, notoriously once used by the Taliban as an execution ground.

Several thousand supporters waved blue flags and cheered as Abdullah gave a passionate address, whipping some in the crowd into a frenzy.

A makeshift platform used by television journalists collapsed in the crush, lightly injuring several.

Supporters stampeded through gates and shattered glass doors to get closer to Abdullah, an urbane eye doctor, while others clung precariously to a light tower.

One of Afghanistan's most notorious militia leaders threw his support behind Karzai today, the final day of campaigning for this week's tense election.

Thousands gave a rapturous welcome to former Uzbek militia chief General Abdul Rashid Dostum, who jetted back to Afghanistan on Sunday from exile in Turkey.

'We need to go with Hamid Karzai into the future,' Dostum told cheering supporters in Shiberghan, his dusty home city.

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Afghan husbands allowed to starve their wives if she refuses sex | Mail Online