Lubna Hussein
Ms. Lubna Hussein courageously stood trial yesterday in Khartoum for violating Sudan’s indecency laws by wearing trousers in public. Bec Hamilton, who met Ms. Hussein on her trip to Sudan last month, reported the following from a conversation with her after the trial:
As was entirely predictable, today a Sudanese court tried to save face – saying it would not flog Lubna Hussein for wearing trousers (something it didn’t want to do given the global attention on her case) but trying to maintain that she was still “guilty” by fining her 500 Sudanese pounds. No doubt they hoped she would be happy to be spared a flogging, would pay the fine and that would be that.
Alas, they don’t know Lubna.
I just spoke to her by phone. She wants to refuse to pay the fine. This makes perfect sense since it is the law in its entirety, not just the aspect of its punishment, that she is challenging. Under Sudanese law failure to pay the fine will land Lubna in prison. But it seems she is willing to test if the government will really do this to a world-famous “trouser lady” . . . Stay tuned.
Later in the day, the BBC reported that Ms. Hussein had been jailed for refusing to pay the fine. Hamilton tried to reach her again, but wrote: “The phone number I spoke to her on earlier in the day seems to have been disconnected. Now is the time, more than ever before, to ensure the spotlight doesn’t fade.”
Indeed, now that she has been arrested, it is important to return to Ms. Hussein’s bold words published last Friday in The Guardian:
My trial next week may put Sudanese justice in the spotlight for a moment. But I hope that people will not look away once my verdict is announced, because there are many greater challenges that await us.
When North and South Sudan signed a peace agreement after 20 years of brutal civil war, both promised to respect international human rights, to overturn repressive laws and prevent the atrocities of the past being repeated. But the censorship, harassment and detention of journalists and human rights defenders continues.
Next spring our country will face elections. Opposition parties will not be able to fight these elections unless the laws are changed to be compatible with our new constitution. The elections are one step towards a referendum in which our brothers and sisters from the South will decide whether they want to remain in a united Sudan or to create a country of their own. These are painful and difficult choices that will decide the future for generations to come.
I feel anger and frustration that our government will not allow people to freely discuss our future. Sudan is a great country and one rich in diversity of faith, beliefs and ways of being. It has enough resources to provide for all its people. But it will never fulfill its great potential unless we are able to contribute to our future without pressure or fear.
When I think of my trial, I pray that my daughters will never live in fear of these “police of security of society”. We will only be secure once the police protect us and these laws are repealed. I also pray that the next generation will see we had the courage to fight for their future before it was too late. We need Arab, African, American and European leaders to stand with us and help us make sure that the next chapter of our history is less bloody and brutal than the last. This will require conviction and boldness from their side. I hope they will display the qualities of those Sudanese men and women I most admire.
The Arab Program for Human Rights Activists (APHRA) immediately took up Ms. Hussein’s challenge to stand with the Sudanese people. It expressed its deep concern about her arrest as well as the detention of those who came out to show solidarity with her:
The Arab Program condemns the mass unjustified arrests done by the security forces this morning, which represents a violation to article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights…[which relates] to the prohibition of arbitrary arrest. Moreover, the Arab Program affirms that the trial of Lubna Hussien is a violation to Article 19 of the same Covenant related to the freedom of opinion and expression.
The Arab Program for Human Rights Activists…demands the Sudanese government…respect its international obligations incumbent upon it under the ratification of the large amount of international covenants and conventions…[The Arab Program]…also demands the Sudanese government…halt the trial of Lubna Hussien as well as release[e]…all detainees who have been arrested today during the trial.
As she wrote, Ms. Hussein’s trial demonstrates “to the world” what the Sudanese government in Khartoum considers “justice to be.” This incident and the responses from Hamilton, APHRA and others also reveal one of the existential purposes of advocacy – to amplify the voices of those who are everyday courageously striving against a multitude of internal obstacles to improve the conditions and institutions in their own countries. After highlighting these concerns, we in the advocacy community must then demand that our governments and the international community put human rights and justice issues at the center of their relations with regimes like the one in Sudan.
The opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Save Darfur Coalition.
Tags: Government of Sudan, Human Rights, Lubna Hussein, Sudan, Violence Against Women
