Algeria’s parliament passed a law Thursday 5th March criminalising domestic violence against women in a vote harshly criticised by conservatives as intruding on the intimacy of couples and contrary to Islamic values.<\/p>\n
The law also safeguards the financial interests of married women and introduces the concept of harassment.<\/p>\n
Under the law, any husband injuring his wife can be punished by up to 20 years in prison, depending on the extent of injuries, and allows a judge to hand down life sentences for attacks resulting in death.<\/p>\n
It also provides for imprisonment of up to two years for any husband acting to “dispose of the assets or financial resources” of his wife.<\/p>\n
The bill, adopted in a vote attended by more than half of\u00a0Algeria’s 462 MPs, drew the ire of some of the members of the assembly.<\/p>\n
Naamane Belaouar of the Alliance for a Green\u00a0Algeria\u00a0said the law was “contrary to quranic precepts and aims to break up the family”.<\/p>\n
Abdallah Djaballah of the El-Adala party said it “takes revenge on the husband and on the man in general,” and also said it threatens family unity.<\/p>\n
And other El-Adala deputies called for laws that would prohibit women from not wearing a veil and “the nudity of women in public places, which is the principal cause of harassment”.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, independent MP Ahmed Kheli said the law would undermine marriage as an institution and encourage men to have lovers instead.<\/p>\n
“It would be easier to have a mistress than to be married and run the risk of being taken to court for any sort of fault,” he argued.<\/p>\n
In contrast, a deputy from the ruling National Liberation Front told AFP that Thursday was “a great day” following the law’s adoption.<\/p>\n
Justice Minister Tayeb Louha defended the Islamic orthodoxy of the law, concluding that “quranic verses protect the honour of women and do not permit” violence against them.<\/p>\n
“Violence against women in our society exists and is growing,” he said.<\/p>\n
Last year, police figures showed that 58 percent of cases involving violence against women resulted from domestic incidents.<\/p>\n
And between 100 and 200 women die each year from domestic violence, according to statistics published by local media.<\/p>\n
Amnesty called for an amendment to the law that would drop a clause allowing the survivor of domestic violence to pardon the perpetrator, warning that it was “a dangerous precedent”.<\/p>\n
“The provision fails to confront the reality of the power relations and inequality between men and women,” it said.<\/p>\n
“A failure to withdraw it could expose women who come forward to report domestic abuse to serious risks of violence or coercion to force them to withdraw a complaint.”<\/p>\n
Algerian feminist Soumia Salhi echoed that, saying the “pardoning clause is a problem because it negates the word of women and is a message of impunity to the authors of violence.”<\/p>\n
– See more at: http:\/\/www.middleeasteye.net\/news\/algeria-passes-law-banning-domestic-violence-against-women-596359589#sthash.bAdZcgqf.dpuf<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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