Around the World: Afghanistan

Ire over marriage law

A group of some 1,000 Afghans swarmed a demonstration of 300 women protesting against a new conservative marriage law yesterday. The women were pelted with small stones as police struggled to keep the two groups apart.

The law, passed last month, says a husband can demand sex with his wife every four days unless she is ill or would be harmed by intercourse - a clause that critics say legalizes marital rape. It also regulates when and for what reasons a wife may leave her home alone.