Sudanese Women Whipped for Wearing ‘Indecent’ Pants

Lubna Ahmed Hussein went to jail on principle. The Sudanese journalist didn’t feel she should have to pay a fine for wearing pants that a court ruled indecent. She was lucky. Twelve other women were lashed for the same offense.  —PS

AFP via Yahoo:

Women in trousers are not a rare sight in Sudan but the authorities can take offence at trousers which reveal too much of a woman’s shape, leading to accusations from rights groups that judgement is arbitrary.

In Hussein’s case, the court opted for the 500 Sudanese pounds (200 dollars) fine rather than a flogging, but ten of the 12 other women who were arrested in a Khartoum restaurant at the same time as Hussein have been whipped for their offence.

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Flickr / David Boyle

It is against Sudanese law for women to wear tight-fitting pants such as the Western-style jeans pictured here.