The Times
September 30, 2003
By Catherine Philp, South Asia CorrespondentAfghanistan's draft constitution is to declare the nation an Islamic state but will stop short of imposing Sharia, the strict Koran-based law practised in the world's most conservative Muslim countries.
The unveiling of the draft document this week, on the return of President Karzai to Kabul, will mark a victory for the moderate lobby over the nation's conservatives, who had fought a bitter battle to retain Sharia, the legal code on which the Taleban had based their own draconian form of justice.
What remains to be seen, however, is whether the same consensus can be reached among the members of the Loya Jirga, the vast gathering of warlords and tribal and religious leaders who must ratify the constitution before it can become law, paving the way for elections next year.
The Taleban used their own controversial interpretation of Sharia to put to death adulterers, cut off the hands of convicted thieves and prevent women and girls from working or attending school.
Although the Taleban were not consulted on the new constitution, those involved in its drafting said that Sharia had proved to be its most contentious issue.
Nearly two years after the fall of the Taleban, Afghanistan remains a deeply conservative country, with resistance to such notions as equal rights for women and religious freedoms for the country's tiny minorities, which include Hindus and Sikhs.
One debate between Islamic leaders this year ended with a summary that stated that Sharia was the "only source of legislation" in Afghan law. While permitting women to receive an education and work, the shura (legislative council) demanded that women be legally obliged to wear the hijab, a garment barely more revealing that the burka they were forced to wear under the Taleban.
The draft constitution is the product of more than a year of consultations that brought in an overwhelming response from across the country. More than 100,000 Afghans responded to questionnaires and thousands attended village meetings organised by the constitution review committee.
Those who have seen the document say that it aims to balance majority wishes against minority rights.
New proposals to expand Nato's mission in Afghanistan by deploying thousands of extra troops to all the main urban areas have been drafted by the alliance's top military body.
Nato's Military Committee presented a range of options yesterday to extend the present role, which is limited to Kabul, the Afghan capital, to other cities. If Nato governments approve, it could lead to an alliance peacekeeping role aimed at spreading stability throughout Afghanistan.