To: UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon,
US President Barack Obama,
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay,
And US Special Envoy to Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke


We the undersigned hereby petition the above honorable dignitaries for their action against an extremely oppressive law passed by the two houses of Afghanistans parliament and subsequently signed by President Karzai making legalizing, among other things, marital rape among the Shia communities of Afghanistan. This law is certainly not an accurate representation of Shia jurisprudence or Islamic Shari a law, but is meant to appease Islamic fundamentalists with radical views within a distinct ethnic minority. So not only is it an egregious violation of womens rights, it also reinforces dangerous sectarian divides.

RELEVANT FACTS:

In addition to eliminating the need for sexual consent of a married woman, the so called Shia Family Law also condones child marriage and restricts a womans right to leave her home.

Article 132 of the law requires women to obey their husbands sexual demands and stipulates that a man can expect to have sex with his wife at least once every four nights, unless they are ill.

A Report by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) stated: Article 132 legalizes the rape of a wife by her husband.

In addition to some brave female politicians speaking out against the law, some women in Afghanistan have begun to risk their lives by taking the protest to the streets.

The Constitution of Afghanistan states, Citizens are guaranteed the right to life and liberty, to PRIVACY, of peaceful assemblyWOMEN are protected equally before the law.

The women, the Afghans, the advocates of freedom, and the Muslims of the world are watching and waiting to see the United States and the international community speak out and act against these atrocities.

THE UNDERSIGNED RESPECTFULLY REQUEST:

1. That the representatives of the United Nations and the United States speak out against the Shia Family Law
2. That they demand that the Parliament of Afghanistan and President Karzai do everything in their power to redress or eliminate the elements of the law that undermine and violate womens rights