A 16-year-old Sudanese girl was subjected to 50 lashes after a judge ruled her skirt was indecent. This is the latest case to highlight the strictness of Sudan's Islamic law.The 16-year-old, Silva Kashif, was arrested by a plain-clothed policeman in a Khartoum market last week. The skirt was slightly below the knee. She was convicted of offending public morality and received 50 lashes in the courtroom, allowing no time for an appeal
In a telephone interview with AP, Kashif said "I was treated like a criminal. I am confused what to wear. The trousers were an issue. My skirt was beneath the knee. What more can I do? I am Christian. My tribe and my customs permit me to dress like this."
The northern areas of Sudan have a strict Islamic code. This follows closely the case of Lubna Hussein, a woman journalist who was sentenced to 40 lashes for wearing "indecent" trousers. Hussein's sentence was frotunately reduced to a fine, but she is now campaigning for reformation.
Human rights lawyer Azhari al-Haj said a legal team plans to sue authorities. They will cite the fact that authorities gave Kashif the maximum sentence, ignoring the fact that she was bitg a minor and a Christian.
"The whole thing from her arrest to her flogging didn't take one hour and half. This is unprecedented. We want to question the police officers and the judge, to exonerate Silva and to campaign against these laws."
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