Winston Churchill quipped that "democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time." That's worth bearing in mind when evaluating recent events in Afghanistan.
This past week, a proposed law to regulate Shia marital relations sparked outrage in the international community-and rightly so. The legislation was unapologetically misogynistic: it robbed women of (among other things) their sexual autonomy, freedom of movement, and custody rights. However, in response to concerted diplomatic pressure, Afghan President Hamid Karzai withdrew the legislation on Saturday.
But, amidst all the justified criticism of the Afghan legislation, a troubling suggestion emerged: that Canada should withdraw its military and financial support for the government of Afghanistan. This suggestion isn't entirely surprising-some people have become increasingly critical of Canada's role in Afghanistan in recent years-but it's profoundly misguided.
For those people who have forgotten about Karzai's predecessors, a brief recap of life under the Taliban may be worthwhile: all women (not just Shi'ites) were barred from leaving their homes. Or standing on their balconies. Or having jobs. Or speaking in public. Or choosing whom they would marry. And the list goes on.
The situation of women in Afghanistan is still very troubling-there's no denying that. But that Afghan women have civil rights at all is among the country's most remarkable achievements in the past decade. Women are currently guaranteed one quarter of the seats in Afghanistan's elected parliament, and in the 2005 elections they won 28 per cent of the seats.
By withdrawing its support, Canada would be doing far more harm in Afghanistan than the proposed legislation ever could. We would be throwing a young, poor, and war-torn democracy to the wolves. The liberalization of Afghanistan is a slow process, and it's likely that the Afghan government (and people) will stumble again on the road to democracy. But that's precisely when we should be giving them a helping hand-and not the cold shoulder.
Last week's proposed legislation probably violated the UN Declaration of Human Rights, but future Afghan legislation may be perfectly legal, and equally offensive to Canadian sensibilities. Ultimately, Canada's support for democracy in Afghanistan can't be contingent on the types of laws the country adopts. Our disagreements should be resolved diplomatically, as is the norm for democratic states, rather than by threatening the Afghan government's very existence.
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