Afghanistan's justice officials have promised to delete "contentious clauses" from a proposed law that critics alleged would allow men to rape their wives, Canada's foreign affairs minister said.

"The contentious clauses in that piece of legislation will be removed, and the piece of legislation is under review by the Department of Justice in Afghanistan," Lawrence Cannon said Monday at a news conference in Washington.

The assurances for the changes came from Afghanistan's foreign and interior ministers, who agreed to let him know when the legislation has been reworked, he said.

The proposed law — which has been widely condemned, including by NATO leaders at last week's summit — would apply only to the minority Shia community.

Among other things, it would forbid women from refusing to have sex with their husbands and also require women to get a male relative's permission to leave the house.