The news is not good in Afghanistan. A two year prison sentence has been given to the magazine editor of Haqooq-i-Zan (Women's Rights) for proposing the following in his pages:
- perhaps those who leave Islam should not be stoned to death
- women should be considered equal with men
- those caught in adultery should not be lashed with a whip
The sentence was determined by the government advisor on religion, Mohaiuddin Baluch.
The case underlines the fragility of press freedoms in Afghanistan's nascent democracy and highlights a struggle between religious moderates and extremists over what form Islam will take in the country as it emerges from two decades of conflict and the ouster of the hard-line Taliban in a U.S.-led war in late 2001.
Afghanistan is a conservative Islamic country. Under a revised March 2004 media law signed by Afghan President Hamid Karzai, content deemed insulting to Islam is banned. Criminal penalties were left vaguely worded, leaving open the possibility of punishment in accordance with Shariah.
This is the chance we took. We fought to institute democracy and this is what they choose to do with it. Not exactly what Laura Bush was hoping for when she was graciously hosting Karzai last year, I'm sure. Most likely not what most of the Aghani women wanted either.
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