Shia Personal Status Law

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The Shia Personal Status Law, also known as the Shia Family Law, is a law of Afghanistan that was approved in February 2009 with Afghan President Hamid Karzai's signature. A portion of the law pertaining to sexual relations between husband and wife made international headlines. The United Nations Development Fund for Women, NATO, Canada, United States, Germany and other nations came forward asking for a review of the law, as it was felt that it oppresses Shiite women, taking away many of their rights in a marital relationship. Most controversially, Article 132 specifies that Shia women are required to sexually submit to their husband's demands and are expected to have intercourse with their husband at least once every four days except in case of illness, in what has been described as spousal rape.^[1][2][3][4]

The law only affects the Shia denomination of Afghanistan, approximately six million people.^[5] Family issues had previously been decided by customary law, so it is considered an improvement on past affairs. Some Afghan politicians feel that it protects women who are weaker than men.^[5] Shia officials claim that the new law preserves the distinctions which are inherent between the Shia and Sunni Muslim religions of Afghanistan.^[4]