A woman in Sudan is contesting that country’s dress codes, which call for her to receive 40 lashes for wearing slacks in public.
Lubna Hussein, a former journalist who works for the United Nations, attended a hearing over the matter wearing the same green slacks that got her arrested for “immodest dress.”
Indecency cases are not uncommon in Sudan, but lawyers began by arguing whether her status as a U.N. employee gives her legal immunity.
Lubna Hussein is having none of that immunity stuff. She wants to fully contest the law. Her lawyer, Nabil Adib Abdalla, said Hussein has agreed to resign from the United Nations in time for the next court session — to make sure the case continues and she isn’t let off on the technicality of being a U.N. worker.
“First of all she wants to show she is totally innocent, and using her immunity will not prove that,” Abdalla told reporters. “Second she wants to fight the law … This is turning into a test case.”
At an early hearing, journalists got into a shoving match with armed police outside the courtroom, and dozens of women, some wearing slacks and jeans, attended the case. Some waved small placards with the slogan “Lashing people is against human rights.”
The trial was also attended by representatives of the embassies of France, Canada, Sweden and Spain, alongside politicians and members of the Sudanese Women’s Union.
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