Global Arab Network | Sudan court defers 'indecent trousers' case

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Sudan court defers 'indecent trousers' case

Global Arab Network - - Adam Turner

Wednesday, 29 July 2009 13:06

A Sudanese court has postponed the case of a woman journalist facing 40 lashes for wearing “indecent trousers”.

A judge on Wednesday adjourned the case of Lubna Ahmed al-Hussein, a noted columnist, a press officer at the United Nations Mission in Sudan and works for the left-wing Al-Sahafa newspaper

"The court gave Lubna the choice either to accept immunity from the UN or to waive that and go on with the trial," Nabil Adeeb, her lawyer, told AFP.

But al-Hussein, who has made her trial a public campaign, inviting local and foreign journalists to attend, told the packed court: "I wish to resign from the UN, I wish this court case to continue."

Al-Hussein was arrested, along with 13 other women, in a raid on a Khartoum cafe in early July.

Hussein said she was at a restaurant on July 3 when police came in and ordered 13 women wearing trousers to follow them to the police station.

Public order cases in Sudan are usually dealt with quickly and 10 of the women were fined about $120 and given 10 lashes as punishment, but al-Hussein demanded a lawyer and delayed her trial.

Al-Hussein said that she decided to speak out because flogging is a practice many women endure in silence.

"Let the people see for themselves. It is not only my issue," she said.

"This is retribution to thousands of girls who are facing flogging for the last 20 years because of wearing trousers. They prefer to remain silent."

The case was adjourned until August 4.

She wore the same clothes to court as when she was arrested -- moss-green slacks with a loose floral top and green headscarf.

Scores of people crammed into the courthouse to hear the ruling, many of them female supporters -- some of them also wearing trousers out of solidarity.

Some held up placards on the street outside. "A woman is not for flogging," read one in Arabic.

"We are here to support Lubna, because this treatment of women is arbitrary and not correct," said Zuhal Mohammed Elamin, a law professor in Khartoum. "Women should not be humiliated in this manner."

Police have also cracked down on Amal Habbani, another female journalist, after she wrote an article condemning al-Hussein's treatment.

Habbani wrote an article for Ajrass Al-Horreya newspaper following the arrests entitled "Lubna, a case of subduing a woman's body".

"I am waiting for a decision," Habbani told AFP after she was charged with defaming police, a charge which can carry a fine of up to several hundred thousand dollars.

The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information said the charge against Habbani stemmed from her claim that Hussein's arrest was "not about fashion but a political tactic to intimidate and terrorise opponents."

Women in northern Sudan usually dress in traditional outfits that include a shawl over their head and shoulders. Western dress is uncommon.

Hussein, who wears a hijab or Islamic headscarf, faces 40 lashes and a fine of 250 Sudanese pounds (100 dollars) if found guilty. (AFP, UPI, Aljazeera, Bloomberg)

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