Hard-line Afghan MPs block law protecting women
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A group of burqa-clad Afghan women cross a road in Herat early April 21, 2013. An Afghan legislator says conservative lawmakers have blocked a law that aims to protect women's freedoms, saying parts of it violate Islamic principles. -- FILE PHOTO: AFP
KABUL (AP) - An Afghan legislator says conservative lawmakers have blocked a law that aims to protect women's freedoms, saying parts of it violate Islamic principles.
The failure highlights how tenuous women's rights remain a dozen years after the ouster of the hard-line Taliban regime, whose strict interpretation of Islam kept Afghan women virtual prisoners in their homes.
The law has actually been in effect since 2009 by presidential decree.
Lawmaker Fawzia Kofi wants to cement it with a parliamentary vote to prevent its future reversal.
