Earlier this year Afghanistan passed a "rape law" that shocked the world and came as a surprise to many government officials. Now it has been revealed that Canadian diplomats knew of the impending law, yet did not alert the government.
In late February, Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s administration approved wide-ranging family law reforms that observers say allow men to rape their wives by making it illegal from women to refuse their husbands sex. It was largely reported that Karzai was looking to win political support with his approval of the law in advance of Presidential elections, set to take place this August.
Many wondered how officials could not have known that the law was being considered before it passed. Documents obtained by the federal New Democratic Party indicate that, in fact, some officials did know of the law before it was passed. The documents show that Canadian diplomats were warned of the law in mid-February.
The Canadian Press further reported that "diplomats had no specific knowledge about the provisions of the law or when it was to be considered by the Afghan parliament," but that officials working for the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) "knew as far back as October last year that the law was being drafted."
Canadian officials, including Stockwell Day, Minister of International Trade and Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Foreign Affairs, both maintained they were unaware of the law prior to its passing.
In light of the new findings questions have arisen as to why diplomats and CIDA did not inform the government.
The law was immediately and broadly denounced. In Afghanistan, a Senator said it was “worse than during the Taliban.” In Canada, MPs were outraged. Hilary Clinton approached Karzai directly. On the web and at office cooler conversations, Canadians were denouncing the law as an affront to women’s rights.
Eventually, and after intense international pressure, Karzai declared that the law would be reviewed. However, Afghanistan’s Justice Minister also said that the law could take months to review, and no conclusion to the review has been reached to date.
Paul Dewar, the NDP Member of Parliament who requested, and received, the official timeline of events that showed Canadian diplomats knowledge of the law spoke sharply of the affair. "We're supposed to be there keeping an eye on human rights...I would have thought if this had been noted to our officials they would have been on it immediately."
