from www.dailymail.co.uk – An Afghan bill permitting a husband to starve his wife if she refuses to have sex has become law as the country’s president, Hamid Karzai, looks to seal victory in this Thursday’s election.

The bill sparked international outrage when it was first introduced earlier this year, forcing Mr Karzai to back down.

But critics say the amended version of the law, brought into effect on July 27, remains highly repressive.

They accuse Mr Karzai of selling out Afghan women for the sake of conservative Shia support ahead of the presidential vote.

The law governs family life for Afghanistan’s Shia minority, which make up about 15 per cent of the 30million population.

It allows a husband to withhold food from his wife if she refuses to submit to his sexual demands.

In the original version, Shia women were ordered to have sex with their husbands every four days.

It also removed the need for consent to sex within marriage, effectively condoning marital rape.

Now in the amended version of the same bill, a wife must also get her husband’s permission to work. Fathers and grandfathers have also been awarded exclusive custody of the children.

The bill was passed quietly with the apparent approval of Mr Karzai.