Sudanese Woman Journalist Fined for Wearing Trousers

A Sudanese woman was found guilty of indecency and fined on Monday for wearing trousers in a case that has attracted worldwide attention, but she will be spared lashes, an official who attended the trial said.

The woman, Lubna Hussein, was arrested at a party in July with 12 other women and had faced the possibility of 40 lashes for wearing trousers deemed indecent. The court ordered her to pay a fine of 500 pounds ($209) or face a month in jail, Reuters informs.

According to Telegraph.co.uk, defying the Sudanese authorities to do their worst, Lubna succeeded in attracting international attention to highlight the grossly discriminatory nature of Sudan’s man-made and male-dominated laws.

Along with 12 other women - and numerous women before them - Lubna was charged under Article 152 of Sudan’s 1991 Penal Code which states that “whoever ... wears an obscene outfit ... shall be punished with flogging which may not exceed 40 lashes or with fine, or with both”.

Sudanese law is wrong to impose restrictions of any kind on women on the basis of how they cover - or uncover - their legs, but to levy fines against this woman is utterly disgraceful.

Lubna Hussein, 34, a widow whose trial exposed draconian Islamic laws in Sudan, was taken to prison in the same trousers that she wore when she was arrested with 12 other women at a Khartoum restaurant in July.

“I will not pay a penny, I’d rather go to prison,” she declared after hearing the verdict. She will serve a one-month sentence in Omdurman, Times Online informs.