KHARTOUM – Sudanese police arrested dozens of women yesterday who had been protesting against laws they say humiliate women after a video of a woman being flogged in public appeared on the internet.
Floggings carried out under Islamic law are almost a daily punishment in Sudan for crimes ranging from drinking alcohol to adultery. However vague laws on women’s dress and behaviour are implemented inconsistently.
One case sparked international furore when Lubna Hussein, a Sudanese UN official, invited journalists to her public flogging for wearing trousers.
The video, which was removed by YouTube, showed a crying Sudanese woman being lashed by two policemen in front of onlookers in a public place. She was made to kneel and the police laughed during the punishment.
“Humiliating your women is humiliating all your people,” the women shouted as they were being arrested yesterday.
About 50 women sat down outside the justice ministry holding banners and surrounded by riot police telling them to move.
Three plainclothed security men threw a BBC correspondent to the ground, confiscating his equipment.
All the women were arrested and taken to a nearby police station. Their lawyers were prevented from entering, but senior opposition politicians were allowed to go inside.
The women said they had tried to get permission for the protest but had been refused. The police declined to comment.
Sudan’s justice ministry said it would investigate whether the punishment was administered properly. It was not clear what offence the woman being lashed had committed. – (Reuters)