Sudan Woman On Trial For Wearing Pants

If you think the U.S. is getting more and more uptight and individual liberties are under attack more than ever you should get a load of what goes on in places like The Sudan In Africa. A 27 year old woman was arrested last July and charged with public indecency for wearing pants in a club. Her name is Ludna Hussein and when she was arrested she was charged with violating article 152 of the Sudanese criminal code of 1991 which says that no woman is allowed to wear "...clothing causing harassment to public sentiment..." for which the maximum penalty is 40 lashes and the loss of her reputation. The Sudan is a predominantly Muslim country and it is possible there for any man to simply accuse any woman in public of violating public decency standards by doing something like just wearing pants, or having her wrists exposed or her head exposed. Women wearing pants is very frowned upon there evidently and is punishable by law. During her trial her lawyers were not allowed to present any evidence or fight the case and the judge favored with the police in the matter and convicted her. He had the decency however to spare her from the 40 lashes at least. Hussein has filed an appeal in the case. As a reaction to the trial there has begun the first signs of something of a women's movement in Sudan to get this law overturned and declared unconstitutional.