Sudanese Teen Flogged for Wearing ... Skirt?

by Alex DiBranco · 2009-11-27 16:39:00 UTC
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You've probably heard something about the fact that Sudan has a problem with women wearing pants. Well, it turns out that wearing a skirt also won't keep you safe from northern Sudan's vague indecency laws.

Sixteen-year-old Silva Kashif ran afoul of conservative Islamic sharia law for wearing a skirt that stopped beneath the knee. Less than two hours after her arrest, she had been tried and sentenced. Her punishment: 50 lashes, delivered in the courtroom.

Kashif, originally from the south of the country, which is not subject to sharia law, expressed confusion over how she is expected to dress. "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."

According to a 2005 peace agreement that put an end to civil war in the country, the government is supposed making efforts to be more lenient on Christians and those who have moved from the south of the country. However, for a woman to be prosecuted for indecent dress, all that is required is a single complaint filed against her. There are thousands of these filed each year, creating a strain on the legal system that leads to quicky trials that don't take into consideration the defendant's religious or cultural background -- or, in this case, her age, since minors are not supposed to be subject to whipping as a punishment.

Human rights groups protest that the arbitrary laws need to be changed in order to avoid such abuses, which give police and judges entirely too much power to decide what constitutes inappropriate dress. Kashif's family is suing for reparations for being unjustly punished, but the goal is to have the law completely overturned.

The law creates an atmosphere in which women and girls, like Kashif, cannot feel comfortable wearing the most typical clothing. Unfortunately, in most cases, women punished under this law don't fight back or speak about it. Women's rights activist Amal Habbini refers to it as "repression of a whole society through its women."

Photo credit: Sara Goldstein's Flickr photostream.

Alex DiBranco is a Change.org Editor who has worked for the Nation, Political Research Associates, and the Center for American Progress. She is now based in New York City.
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