Protesting students want EVAW law repealed

KABUL‘s rights they said was un-Islamic. <–break->

Using executive authority, Karzai had created the law on elimination of violence against women (EVAW) in 2009.

The protesters warned of continued and violent protests if the parliament approved the law. Carrying back, white and green flags, they even said they would join the Taliban and resort to uprising against the government if the law was not repealed in the parliament.

The protest came days after lawmakers’ vehement opposition blocked an attempt to cement the decree’s provisions in legislation.

More than 200 male students also blocked entrances to Kabul University at 9am till afternoon, chanting “Allah-o-Akbar” and “down with western countries”.

“We want Islamic laws and our law is Quran,” they shouted. “We strongly oppose passing EVAW law because it is against Islamic instructions and we ask the government to repeal it urgently,” one of the protesters, Matiullah, said.

He said their protest would continue until the draft law was rejected by the parliament and would resort to violent protests if it was approved.

“We don’t want western laws to be enforced in Afghanistan, we want the enforcement of Quranic laws,” he added. He continued woman shelters served as safe havens for moral crimes, but they were going to be legalised under the law.

Prayer leader at the university mosque, Mawladad Jalali, one of the protest organisers, said they would exercise “other means” if their protest failed to get the law rejected. “Our main demand is that this law should be repealed in the parliament,” he said before leading a brief march.

“We inform the world that we don’t accept other laws except those mentioned in the holy book of Allah and revealed by His Prophet. We would try our best to enforce Islamic laws in the world,” the students said in their resolution letter.

myn/ma

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