No Fashion Crimes in America, but Elsewhere It’s Likely
In America, a fashion crime won’t get anyone forty lashes, but unfortunately it can in Sudan.
Northern Sudan is predominantly Islamic, and the Islamic law has restrictions on public indecency, mainly for women, according to CNN.com.
Lubna Al-Hussein was threatened with forty lashes for wearing pants that were allegedly “too tight” with a sheer blouse. According to Al-Hussein, she was wearing pants, a blouse and a hijab (a head scarf worn by Muslim women).
Lashing – a common punishment in Sudan for both men and women - can be held in public. The public lashings are reserved mainly for men, and for women the lashings are handled in private and occur shortly after the trial.
At the time of her arrest, Al-Hussein was attending a restaurant party in Khartoum when Sudan police barged in and began inspecting woman at the party to make sure their clothes were decent for public appearance.
Al-Hussein was not the only one arrested at the party - 18 other women were arrested with her. Her lawyer, Nabil Adib, does not think she was targeted specifically. According to Adib, it’s a common occurrence for police to enter public and private parties to hold these inspections.
Courts found her guilty of the crimes, but decided not to give her the lashes. They instead ordered that she pay a fine of 500 Sudanese pounds, which is equal to 209 American dollars. If she did not pay the fee, then she would be thrown in prison for one month. Her trial lasted a day and she was not allowed any witnesses or to present a defense case, according to her Adib.
Al-Hussein chose jail time and refused to pay the fine based on principal. Now, she’s looking to appeal the court’s decision in hopes to make the effort to declare the Muslims’ decency law unconstitutional.
Al-Hussein worked as a journalist for the media department of the United Nations and resigned from her position to waive her immunity as an international worker and face trial.
This action brought attention across the world and many protestors showed up at the court hearing to protest this offense. Police had to throw tear gas into the crowds to break up the protesting.
According to CNN they detained 47 supporters, apparently injuring some of these women. From Amnesty International to United Nations, this is one trial that has everyone around the world was watching, and waiting to see the results.
