Post by Focus on May 18, 2013 10:18:03 GMT
A debate by Afghan MPs about beefing up a law to prevent violence against women has been halted amid angry scenes.
Parliament's speaker ended the debate after 15 minutes after traditionalists called for the law to be scrapped.
A law banning violence against women, child marriages and forced marriages was passed by presidential decree in 2009, but did not gain MPs' approval.
Hundreds of people have been jailed under the current law to prevent violence against women
Hundreds of people have been jailed under the current law, introduced by President Hamid Karzai.
'Lack of assurance'
The decision to seek parliamentary approval for the law had split women activists.
Some had said opening it up for debate in parliament could pave the way for conservatives to amend it and weaken protection for women - or even throw it out altogether.
One of those against the move was prominent MP Farkhunda Zahra Naderi. She told the BBC after Saturday's events in parliament that her fears had been proved right.
During the debate, mullahs and other traditionalist MPs accused President Karzai of acting against Islamic Sharia law by signing the decree in the first place, the BBC's David Loyn reports from Kabul.
In particular, they demanded a change to the law so that men cannot be prosecuted for rape within marriage, our correspondent said.
President Karzai
One of those who had sought to enshrine the decree with parliamentary approval is leading MP Fawzia Koofi, who survived a Taliban ambush two years ago.
She had worried that if the law did not have parliamentary backing it could be weakened as Afghan leaders attempt to pacify the Islamist Taliban movement.
"There is a lack of assurance that any president of Afghanistan will have any commitment to women's issues and in particular towards this decree," Ms Koofi told the BBC before the debate.
President Karzai has come under fire from women's groups for frequently changing his position on women's rights.
In 2012, he endorsed a "code of conduct" issued by an influential council of clerics which allows husbands to beat wives under certain circumstances.
Ms Koofi
Ms Koofi and fellow activists have argued that the law is similar to those in many other Islamic countries.
The existing law will now remain in force while further discussions on procedure are held, our correspondent says.
Despite the efforts taken to enhance rights for women and girls in Afghanistan, child marriages remain common and stories of abuse keep coming to light.
Most Afghans still live in rural areas, where poverty, conflict and conservative attitudes are more likely to keep girls and women at home.
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