SHIA FAMILY LAW UPDATE: SHIA LEADERS, CIVIL SOCETY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 000914 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KWMN AF SUBJECT: SHIA FAMILY LAW UPDATE: SHIA LEADERS, CIVIL SOCETY FORTIFY POSITIONS REF: A. KABUL 896 AND PREVIOUS ¶B. 08 KABUL 3097 ¶C. KABUL 279 ¶D. 08 KABUL 2963 ¶1. (U) SUMMARY. A prominent Shia cleric publicly lashed out this week against opponents of the Shia Family Law, charging that the government has no right to alter a law passed by Parliament and signed by President Karzai (ref A). Officials say they remain committed to a thorough review of the law to eliminate unconstitutional limits on the rights of women. Representatives of the international community will meet with the Ministry of Justice this week to discuss specific objections. Civil society organizations and moderate parliamentarians are coordinating their inputs for the MoJ's review process. Several Shia leaders in Kabul, caught off guard by international outrage against the law, have reached out to the media and various embassies to defend their position or step back from their earlier support of the law. Shia women leaders continue to find themselves torn between their faith and their gender. End Summary. Ayatollah Mohseni: Western Countries Should Butt Out -------------- ¶2. (U) Ayatollah Mohammad Asef Mohseni, arguably the country's most influential Shia leader, refuses to back away from the Shia Family Law's original text, including controversial provisions restricting women's ability to leave their homes, work, and refuse sexual intercourse with their husbands. In his April 11 press conference, Mohseni criticized Western governments for forcing Karzai to withdraw the Palace's support for the law. Mohseni contended foreign pressure to kill the law reverses those countries' promises to stay out of internal Afghan affairs and respect Afghan democracy. Charge will call on Mohseni on April 16. Government: Mohseni Statement Won't Stop Our Review -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Deputy Justice Minister Hashimzai confirmed with Embassy's Rule of Law coordinator on April 11 that Mohseni's strong words did not affect the government's commitment to reviewing the legislation with civil society groups, the international community, members of parliament, and religious experts. MoJ has invited certain international community representatives, including the United States, to an April 15 meeting to present their concerns on specific provisions in the law. EU officials in Kabul delivered a demarche to FM Spanta on April 12 welcoming the government's decision not to publish the law in the legal gazette. Civil society groups and other interested parties will also meet with MoJ in the coming weeks. Moderate Shia groups want the drafting process restarted and demand Mohseni and other conservative Shia leaders include a more diverse representation of the Shia community in the new process. Mohseni and other conservatives retain significant influence in the Shia community, though we are hearing from increasing numbers of younger Hazaras looking for more modern leaders (ref B). Some Shia Leaders Hold Firm, Others Moderate Their Position -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Several Shia leaders have reached out to the media and foreign officials in Kabul to explain their position. Leading Shia MPs, such as Sayed Alemi Balkhi (Kabul, Hazara), remain committed to the bill and blame poor translations for the international community's "misunderstanding." Balkhi believes amendments passed by the Lower House in February sufficiently protect women's rights. We have seen several translations of the law's various articles, and concur with media reports that the law would severely roll back women's rights. MP Ahmad Ali Jebraili (Herat, Hazara) argued the law was actually progressive, granting women exceptions to limitations on their freedom of movement for emergencies or health reasons. He claimed some Shia husbands would not ordinarily accept such exceptions. Jebraili also doubts any men would actually seek legal recourse if their wives disobeyed the provision on submitting to a husband's sexual demands. "When I invite my wife for sex, she sometimes declines, but I never take her to court over it," he told PolOff. Jebraili and other drafters claimed they added such provisions to respect traditional Shia jurisprudence and Sharia law. ¶5. (SBU) Hazara leader MP Haji Mohammad Mohaqqeq is one of the few Shia men to moderate his support for the law. Mohaqqeq had been involved in the drafting and its passage through Parliament, but now says the law is out of step with Afghanistan's commitments to women's rights in its Constitution and international protocols. About 20 Shia MPs KABUL 00000914 002 OF 002 in the Lower House are loyal to Mohaqqeq and may also moderate their positions. Several presidential candidates, including Karzai and presumptive United Front nominee Abdullah Abdullah, are courting Mohaqqeq for a vice presidential slot on their tickets. With his revised position, Mohaqqeq may be looking to offset criticism that Karzai or another political leader is trading support for the law in exchange for Mohaqqeq's influence with Afghanistan's approximately 1 million Hazara voters. ¶6. (SBU) Many Shia women continue to struggle with their posture toward a law which restricts women's rights but codifies a legal identity for the Shia minority. A New York-based women's rights NGO contacted Upper House MP Rida Azimi (Parwan, Tajik),a Sunni, in late March asking for help identifying a Shia MP who could serve as a public face in opposing the bill. Azimi surveyed colleagues, but found no takers. "In the end, the Shia women were afraid to speak up or chose their religion over their gender," she said. Lower House Shia MP Shekeba Hashimi (Kandahar) told PolOff foreigners should not interfere in Afghanistan's religious affairs and that most female Shia in the Lower House supported the law. Women, Civil Society Organize Their Opposition -------------- ¶7. (SBU) However, several female MPs, both Shia and Sunni, have privately told us they oppose the law. But their willingness to go on the record against the law varies. Lower House MP Fawzia Kofi (Badakhshan, Tajik) is meeting with civil society organizations to help coordinate their input into the MoJ's review. Shia MP Shah Gul Rezai (Ghazni, Hazara) is taking a quieter approach, believing that behind the scenes advocacy will spare women legislators threats from their male colleagues. ¶8. (U) Both men and women in the reformist Third Line faction, who numbers about 15 MPs, have pledged to defeat the law. Third Line MP Mir Ahmad Joyenda (Kabul, Hazara) helped coordinate a petition against the law. Signers included two dozen MPs, FM Spanta, and hundreds of academics, religious experts, and civil society leaders. Given the environment in which political moderates routinely receive serious threats for speaking out, Joyenda noted that the willingness of so many Afghans to go on the record against the law demonstrates the wide opposition to the law in Afghan society. Looking Ahead On Women's Rights -------------- ¶9. (U) Civil society leaders and many women MPs have expressed their gratitude for international opposition to the Shia Family Law. However, many see the law's hoped-for defeat as only a stop-gap measure against the larger issue of eroding women's rights. Women's rights advocates point to a host of other challenges for Afghan women and hope the international community will be as vocal in support of those measures as it has been in opposition to this law. Women MPs, who constitute about 27 percent of the Lower House, are concerned the government's inattention to threats against women political leaders will decrease women's participation in upcoming elections (ref C). In the latest act of violence against a woman politician, insurgents gunned down Kandahar Provincial Council member Sitara Achakzai on April 12. Women leaders also nervously eye reconciliation initiatives with the Taliban, fearful that the government will trade political stability for a rollback on women's rights (ref D). ¶10. (U) We agree that strong advocacy for Afghan women cannot end with opposition to this law. We continue to support draft legislation now with the MoJ that would increase punishment for violence against women. We also support the involvement of women in the reconciliation process. Finally, we must pay special attention to the role of women in the upcoming presidential and provincial elections, ensuring that insurgents' efforts to intimidate female candidates and voters do not succeed. RICCIARDONE