Lubna Hussein Update: Ms Hussein’s facebook account

Ms Hussein has a facebook account.  The account is private but it is still possible to send her messages of support via this link.  Let’s let her know that even if Western Media have forgotten her, we haven’t.

Lubna Hussein Update

Sudanese English language paper, Asharq Alawsat reports Lubna Hussein has been freed.

Sudan: Lubna Hussein update

Khartoum, SUDAN: Violence has broken out as Sudanese police fired tear gas and beat women protesting outside the court where Lubna Hussein is being tried for wearing trousers.

Police used tear gas and batons to disperse a group (reports vary as to the number, The AP has 50, the Times has 100) demonstrators.  Some of the women demonstrators wore trousers in solidarity with Hussein.

In response to the unrest, Ms Hussein’s trial has been deferred by the court until 7 September.

Timesonline, 5 August 2009: “We are here to protest against this law that oppresses women and debases them,” said Amal Habani, another journalist, who was also arrested last month for writing a column in support of Ms Hussein.”  READ MORE>>

MSNBC.MSN.com., 4 August 2009: “Sudanese journalist Lubna Hussein, right, who faces 40 lashes on the charge of “indecent dressing,” flashes a victory sign to her supporters as she enters the court in Khartoum on Tuesday.”  READ MORE>>

The Associated Press, 4 August 2009: “Arabic slogan read as ” Lubna case, is all women case”.”  READ MORE>>

BBC, 4 August 2009: Two reports including video of Ms Hussein at the court and some of the unrest surrounding her trial. View: Protest at Sudan Woman’s trial.  View: Hussein joins her supporters

Background:

BBC, 29 July, 2009: A chronological timeline of events in recent Sudanese history from the indigenous revolt of Truk-Egyptian rule in 1881 to recent unrest and the tril of Ms Hussein.  READ MORE>>

Sudan: Lubna Hussein vs. Sudanese law

On the 10^th of July 2009, Lubna Hussein and 12 other women were arrested for violating Sudanese Law’s modesty requirements.  They were charged with indecency for wearing trousers.

Ms. Hussein, then employed by the UN, decided to use her arrest to ‘test’ what she considers to be an out-moded and oppressive law.  She resigned from the UN – giving up her immunity to prosecution – and has taken her case to trial.

Ms Hussein has stated that the enforcement of this part of Sudan’s criminal law is entirely subjective – whether or not a woman is arrested, tried and what kind of punishment she is likely to receive is often dependent on the ‘mood’ and attitudes of the police and presiding judge.  Therefore it is possible to see the manner in which this law is enforced as a kind of institutionalised, state sanctioned harassment.

The BBC reported that Ms Hussein says she has done nothing wrong under Sharia law, but could fall foul of a paragraph in Sudanese criminal law which forbids indecent clothing.

“I want to change this law, because hitting is not human, and also it does not match with Sharia law,” she told the BBC.

The following is a sample of the coverage Ms Hussein’s trial has garnered around the world:

The BBC, 4 August 2009: “The trial of a Sudanese woman charged with wearing “indecent” clothing is due to resume in the capital, Khartoum.”  Includes video.  READ MORE>>

Timesonline.co.uk, 4 August, 2009:  “Article 152 of the country’s penal code states that up to 40 lashes and a fine can be handed down to anyone who “violates public morality or wears indecent clothing”. There is no description of what constitutes “indecent clothing”.”  READ MORE>>

Agence France-Presse, 3 August 2009: “A Sudanese journalist facing 40 lashes for wearing “indecent” trousers vowed on the eve of her judgment that she is ready to be whipped 40,000 times in her bid to change the country’s harsh laws.”  READ MORE>>

TheGuardian.co.uk, 2 August 2009: ‘I’m not afraid of being flogged. It doesn’t hurt. But it is insulting’ Ms Hussein interviewed by The Observer’s James Copnall.  READ MORE>>

Sudan Tribune, 2 August 2009: “UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said on Wednesday that he is deeply concerned by the Situation of a UN a staff member working in Sudan who faces 40 lashes for wearing “indecent” trousers in public.”  READ MORE>>

Sudan Tribune, 2 August 2009: A statement by Sudanese women activists about the ‘repressive regime in Sudan.  READ MORE>>

Telegraphonline.co.uk, 1 August, 2009: “Whip me if you dare’ says Lubna Hussein, Sudan’s defiant trouser woman.” READ MORE>>

ITN News, 30 July 2009: An interview with Ms Hussein and news item about her trial. VIEW>>

PoliticsDaily.com, 29 July, 2009: A column by Alex Wagner discussing Ms Hussein’s “courage to challenge an article she finds in violation of the fundamental tenets of Sharia law.” And how it ties in to Sudanese President,  President Omar Al Bashir’s  version of “Africa for Africans”.   READ MORE>>

Guardian.co.uk, 15 July 2009: “Who wears the trousers in Sudan?”, op-ed by Sudanese born writer and commentator, Nesrine Malik .  READ MORE>>

World Pulse magazine, 13 July, 2009: The article which broke Ms Hussein’s story, by Sudanese citizen journalist, Halima Mohamed Abdel Rahman.  Includes images of the trousers Ms Hussein was arrested for wearing and a copy of the invitation she sent to journalists inviting them to attend her trial.  READ MORE>>

What the blogs are saying:

Sudan Watch: “In a Sudanese court on Tuesday Lubna Hussein will dare judges to have her flogged”

The Huffington Post: “Lubna Hussein Pants Trial Adjourns Until Tuesday”

African Press International: “Lubna Hussein, the Sudanese woman who is daring Islamic judges to have her whipped for the “crime” of wearing trousers, has given a defiant interview to the Telegraph.”

Pickled Politics: “Nesrine Malik, who wrote about this case recently, believes that the arrests were less about principle and more about a need to show the strength of the regime.”

Bock The Robber: “More Sharia Bullshit – Lubna Hussein to be Flogged in Sudan”

Jim Buck: “The world needs more brave souls like her.”

Women under Sudanese Law:

Sudan Tribune, 2 August 2009: “The status of women in the country has been largely demoted by the laws enacted and enforced since the NIF rule in 1989.”  READ MORE>>

Background:

The official website of the Government of Sudan in English.

Wikipedia’s entry on Sharia

Wikipedia’s entry on Sudan