Original Prominent Sudan Politicians Seek Revision of Public Order Act

We have some hopeful news out of Khartoum today, via Sudan Radio Service, that could impact the case of Lubna Ahmed Hussein.

A number of prominent lawyers and politicians — some in court supporting Lubna on Wed. July 29th, are calling for a revision of the Public Order Act on constitutional grounds.

Article 152 of the Act stipulates that: “any person who acts or behaves shamefully in a public place, or dresses indecently, in a way that could disturb the feelings of the public or violate public morality, will be prosecuted with not more that 40 lashes or a fine, or both.”

The SPLM deputy secretary-general, Yasir Arman, described the public order law as a violation of the interim constitution.

[Yasir Arman]: “We consider the public order act as a law which violates human rights and violates the constitution itself. It is not compatible with the constitution and it should be canceled. We had discussed this issue with the NCP in our last session, in the presence of the US Special Envoy Scott Gration. We are calling for the cancellation of this law and we think that this trial is a violation of all the rights and freedoms which are stipulated in the constitution.”

The leader of the opposition Umma National party, Dr. Mariyam al-Sadiq al-Mahdi, said that the law discriminates against women.

[Dr. Mariyam al-Sadiq al-Mahdi]: “I will talk as a Muslim and a politician. As a Muslim, I think this is an extreme violation of my religion and it intimidates and underestimates women. As a politician, I think this is a violation of the constitution, but no wonder, this government is used to violating the constitution and continues to do so without shame.”

The leader of the Democratic Force Movement, Hala Mohamed Abdulhalim, also spoke to Sudan Radio Service.

[Hala Mohamed Abdulhalim]: “The accusation against the journalist Lubna, under what is called the Public Order Act, is a violation of the constitution and the CPA. It is one of the acts that was supposed to be canceled under the terms of the Cairo agreement, together with the Media Act and the National Security Act. This law is being used only against women, we have never heard of a man being arrested because he was accused of dressing indecently.”

Note: to further educate us on the lives of Sudanese women, I’ve located a recent interview with Dr. Mariyam al-Sadiq al-Mahdi, the female leader of the opposition, and the daughter of the last elected prime minister in Sudan and decendent of a great Sundanese political dynasty.