Sudan: Woman Journalist Jailed For Wearing Trousers

Sudanese woman journalist Lubna Ahmed al-Hussein was sent to jail after she refused to pay a 500 Sudanese pounds ( 200 US dollars) fine imposed by a court on Monday for wearing trousers, deemed “indecent” by Sudanese Islamic law. She was taken to the prison for women in Omdurman.

According to Sudanese law she could have been sentenced to 40 lashes for “indecency” under Islamic principle. Hussein was arrested with 12 other women wearing trousers in a Khartoum restaurant in July. Ten of the women arrested were each given 10 lashes. However, Hussein decided to challenge the charge and started a public campaign to change the law.

Monday, a Khartoum court spared Hussein a whipping, but instead fined her 200 dollars. Hussein walked out of court in Khartoum, today, holding a sign saying “Know your rights and avoid discrimination”. The press was barred from the court, but the journalist made this short statement before she was taken to jail: “I won’t pay, I would rather go to prison.” In her determination to keep fighting, Hussein refused to follow her lawyer’s advice to pay the fine.

Lubna Ahmed al-Hussein writes for the left leaning Al-Sahafa newspaper, and she also works for the United Nations mission in Sudan. She is the leading voice for women-rights in Sudan, it seems pretty obvious that she was targeted by the authorities for this very reason.

You can find out more about Lubna, a courageous journalist fighting for human rights, by going to her Facebook page.