Rape is generally defined as sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, by one person with or against another person without the consent of the latter. It is categorized into many types like date rape, statutory rape, prison rape and marital rape. However, to paraphrase Shakespeare, rape in any other context would still be rape.

This is a concept that Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai needs to be reminded of. According to a report by Yahoo! News, Afghanistan passed a law that legally allows men to rape their wives.

This is made possible by the provision of the law stating that the husband has the right to engage in sexual intercourse with his wife every fourth night. The qualifying condition to this legally-sanctioned rape is when the wife is sick or suffers from an illness that could worsen due to sex. Otherwise, the wife is obligated to provide an affirmative response to the sexual overtures of the (maniacal) husband. Note that the exact words used in the law is “bound to give a positive response”, which is like saying you have absolutely no choice.

To be fair, the law provides that “man should not avoid having sexual relations with his wife longer than once every four months”. Hallelujah! Afghanistan women can cite this provision when they are starved for marital sex but considering the negative perception of sexually aggressive women in Afghanistan society, one wonders whether this provision is merely for show.

You see, although Afghanistan women continue to carry briefcase for women as a symbol of their emancipation, the society they live in is still very conservative compared to those of Western nations.

The rest of the world, or at least human rights groups, the United Nations and other countries, reacted vehemently to the new law. According to the United Nations Development Fund for Women stated that it legalizes marital rape and violates both women and human rights in many ways. The Canadian and American governments have called for the law to be rescinded while the Human Rights Watch contended that the law set women’s rights dramatically.

Indeed, when a man can cite a law justifying marital rape, then Afghanistan society vis-à-vis women’s rights is in trouble. Haven’t Afghanistan women suffered enough from the Taliban’s years of repression of their basic human rights only to have these trampled on again by a supposedly democratic government?