By Giuliana Sgrena
We cringe when we read of medieval codes passed by the Afghan government against women. But soon we focus on political figures who are the authors and are taking that country back in history, who are replacements of the Taliban, who had been temporarily removed from power by the military intervention of 2001. Eleven years of war have served to remove the Taliban from power and keep the other warlords who in recent years have continued to rule, commit crimes and, moreover, use their power to absolve a law of amnesty also condemned by the United Nations: "Nobody has the right to forgive those responsible for violations of human rights other than the victims themselves."
Mohammad Mohaqiq
Among the supporters of this law, as well as the Family Code for Shiite women (which legitimizes rape in the family, authorizes the husband to deny food to the wife if she does not obey his orders...) is one of the best known Afghan warlords: Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq. Among the founders and still leader of Hezb-e Wahdat (Party of ethnic Hazaras, Shiite fundamentalist), known, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW), for "systematic implications in raids and violence in all areas under their (the Hezb-e Wahdat militia, Ed) subsidiaries, primarily directed against the Pashtun villages (the ethnic majority in Afghanistan, Sunni, ed.) In the attacks on the villages the houses were destroyed, assets of persons stolen and children beaten and killed. There are also many reports of rape of girls and women. In Chimtal district, near Mazar-e Sharif, in Balkh province, the militias of Hizb-e Wahdat and Jamiat were particularly violent. In the village of Bargah-e-Afghanistan, the Hizb-e Wahdat troops killed 36 civilians in 2003, the largest massacre committed by Afghans after the fall of the Taliban."
Active in the war against the Soviets, the action of militias Mohaqiq also continued with the presence of Americans, despite the leader having been appointed vice president of the interim government and then Minister of Planning. Also according to the human rights organization Human Rights Watch, the supporters of Mohaqiq have used threats and intimidation against the delegates of the Loya Jirga in 2002, to allow them to maintain their positions of power.
Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq has become infamous for the abduction and rape of young women, sometimes returned to families after the payment of a ransom, in other cases, the abduction was used to force girls into forced marriages. Now he is the chairman of the Judiciary Committee of the Afghan parliament!
Mohammad Mohaqiq is not the only author of warlord crimes in Afghanistan, but it is surprising that on March 16 he will be received with full honors at the Capitol by Mayor Alemanno, parliamentarians, representatives of authorities and NGOs (Intersos and Afghan). CISDA (Coordinating Italian support Afghan women) has protested against the visit of Mohaqiq to Italy.
Original link: http://www.globalist.it/Detail_News_Display?ID=8715
Published originally on March 13, 2012