Ah, the Religion of Peace...

[Beachcomber]

I'm sorry but I have always found "marital rape" to be a really gray area. On one hand no means no. On the other, if the wife says no and the husband forces the issue what's the big deal? Is it because she was "violated" by it? I don't see how if they are married they have done it before, it's not like he is forcing her to do something she hasn't already done countless times. I'm not saying it's OK, I'm just saying to classify it as "rape" is wrong. Upon the same line of thinking, can a wife accuse a husband of being a peeping tom if he watches her undress? breaking and entering if he comes home and startles her? grand larcency if he writes a check without her permission? A married couple is one entity if I understand the law, and "rape" no longer is a legitimate term to use. To me rape is someone forcing himself on someone who does not have an on-going sexual relationship with him and is not married to him.

[gae]

Beach, you make some very good points, but keep in mind that these are Shiites. I'll be the first to admit that I don't know everything about their sect, but I really doubt that respecting women is very high on the list.

I agree that using the word 'rape' is possibly a misnomer, but if we keep in mind that most civilized people consider that rape is less about sex and more about control and degradation, I think it might be accurate in Afghanistan.