In CIDA's progress report of last October, we indicated that we supported the drafting committee that was working on this bill, but we left it at that, that is, we did not talk about the work being done. We were working on this. It was part of our work plan. That is indeed what happened during the second half of 2008.
Our Kabul office—as I indicated in my presentation—supports a committee comprised of experts working within the Ministry of Women's Affairs with regard to the preparation of the bill.
Last year, we took the same approach when we worked on marriage contracts. That process went as far as it could, and we reached an agreement with regard to the wording of the contract, which was then submitted to the Supreme Court for approval. Every one of the parties involved in the process, including the working group we were supporting, was satisfied with the resulting marriage contract.
We were convinced that the same process would be followed regarding the family code for the Shia community. Unfortunately, while the drafting committee was holding discussions with representatives from the Ministry of Women's Affairs and the Ministry of Justice, we learned that the version which had been proposed by the Ulema Council, comprised of mullahs from the Shia community, would prevail, and that the president had signed it. He had given it to the Minister of Justice, who had not published it, so the bill did not yet have force of law.
I learned of this while on my way to Afghanistan. I read about the law in The Guardian, a London newspaper. When I arrived in Afghanistan, I asked the people in my office whether the report was accurate, and they told me that indeed it was. That very evening, I had supper with the Chairperson of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, Ms. Sima Samar, who was a member of our board of directors. She had also just returned from Europe, and we were both astounded and appalled by what had happened.