At least the Taliban never pretended not to be misogynist assholes

Afghanistan’s Shia family law, the one that was postponed after an attempt to sneak it through in spring (Karzai claimed he had signed it without reading it), is back in slightly revised form. It contained many objectionable provisions, including permitting girls to be married off immediately after menarche, though the Western press focused almost entirely on the one stating that wives could not refuse their husband’s sexual demands. My googling today shows that many newspapers have shortened an AP story on the new version to two sentences, saying that “The new version no longer requires a woman submit to sex with her husband, only that she do certain housework.” In fact, it also says that husbands may deny food to wives who deny them sex. Guardianship rights over children are given exclusively to men, the payment of blood money is allowed as sufficient punishment for rape of a child. The provision that wives must have their husband’s permission to leave the house seems to be gone. Not sure about child marriage.