— BBC: “Row over Afghan wife-starving law”
— “An Afghan bill allowing a husband to starve his wife if she refuses to have sex has been published in the official gazette and become law.”
— “The original bill caused outrage earlier this year, forcing Afghan President Hamid Karzai to withdraw it.”
— “But critics say the amended version of the law remains highly repressive.”
— “The original version obliged Shia women to have sex with their husbands every four days at a minimum, and it effectively condoned rape by removing the need for consent to sex within marriage.”
— “Now an amended version of the same bill has passed quietly into law with the apparent approval of President Karzai.”
— “Women’s groups say its new wording still violates the principle of equality that is enshrined in their constitution.”
— “It allows a man to withhold food from his wife if she refuses his sexual demands; a woman must get her husband’s permission to work; and fathers and grandfathers are given exclusive custody of children.”
— AP: “Female activists condemn Afghan marriage law”
— “They accuse Karzai of sneaking through provision to appease Shiites”