PAN, September 7, 2008

Afghan Parliament drafts Taliban-style bill

According to the proposed law, those behind professional dancing events and those coordinating such programmes will face up to a year in jail.

By Zubair Babakarkhel

KABUL - Wolesi Jirga, or lower house of parliament, has prepared a draft law which, when approved, will ban obscene movies, female dances and high-volume music at parties.

RAWA: The above photo shows mujahedin interim governing council spokesman Ayatullah Asif Mohseini, at press conference in Kabul on May 7, 1992 announcing newly imposed Islamic rules.
Many of the anti-women rules that the brutal Taliban imposed ( http://www.rawa.org/rules.htm ) were the revised version of the rules formulated and practiced by Rabbani-Massoud government after they came to power in 1992 following the fall of the Russian puppet regime. Today the same people are once again in hold of power in Afghanistan and trying to revive their medieval rules.

Those indulging in such acts will be awarded deterrent punishments under the draft bill titled Law against Immoral Acts. The draft has been prepared in three chapters and 20 articles by a parliamentary commission tasked with countering drugs and immoral acts.

Prepared over the last five months, the proposed bill also seeks a ban on training of women artistes including dancers. If passed, the measure will outlaw several practices which have become a routine affair in the Afghan society.

The draft law, copy of which has been obtained by Pajhwok Afghan News, says contents the bill -- once signed into law -- will be implemented by the Department of Vice and Virtue, echoing a Taliban-style campaign against indecency.

Article 7 of the 2nd Chapter says those who drink alcohol will face Sharia law. Those watching naked and half-naked movies, importing or producing them, or providing them to the market for business, will face legal charges based on Article 25 of the punishments law.

According to the proposed law, those behind professional dancing events and those coordinating such programmes will face up to a year in jail. Hotels paving the way for males and females from different families to get together will also be taken to task.

By the same token, organisers of sports events involving men and women participants too will be punished. The new bill disallows wearing shorts and skintight outfits and proposes different penalties for the practices that lead to a delay in marriage, forced weddings, and giving away girls to settle disputes.

As many as 10 government departments will be reporting to the commission on implementation of the law every two weeks. Fines collected from violators will be sent to the treasury.

The planned law is aimed to ensure respect for Islamic values, moral standards and safeguarding society from immoral acts. Maulvi Sayed Rahman, secretary on the commission, told Pajhwok Afghan News representatives from different government organs, civil society organisations and human rights groups as well as Kabul University lecturers were consulted on the measure.

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