By Winnie Kamau
Outrage has poured out on the Justice System of Sudan as 19-year-old Noura Hussein was sentenced to death last Thursday, 10th May by a court in Sudan. The court found her guilty of murder after she killed her ‘husband’ in self-defense. It is alleged that Noura had been forced to marry him by her father and when she refused to consummate the marriage, the man came with a group of relatives who held her down while he violently raped her.
Noura escaped and went into hiding but the alleged Husband was able to track her down and attempted to rape her again. A scuffle ensued between the two and Noura is said to have killed the man while defending herself.
In Sudan, marital rape is not recognized as a crime and girls can be married off as soon as she reaches puberty, which could be as young as nine or ten years old. A father is his daughter’s guardian and can consent to her marriage. As such, Noura is likely to be deemed legitimately married under Sudanese law, regardless of whether she has consented, although this violates both the Sudanese Constitution and international law.
Human Rights organizations have come out in defense of the grossly violated rights of Noura whose only crime of self-defense has been turned against her and leading to her date with the hangman’s noose.In Sudan, as in other Islamic countries, the family of the dead person has the right to ask for execution or can except a payment instead. According to reports from Noura’s court hearing, the family of the deceased have requested her execution.
Among the Organizations seeking the rescinding of the decision include Equality Now who are calling on Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir to plead for clemency for Noura saying that the spirit of the law rather than the letter of the law be followed and that Sudan should adhere to international standards on women’s rights.
In other countries, those who have experienced rape and domestic violence are provided with support services to assist them in overcoming the trauma they have undergone. Noura is not a criminal, she is a victim and should be treated as such.
Yasmeen Hassan the Global Director of Equality Now who are among the Human Rights organizations opposing the sentence voiced their concerns saying “This did not come as a surprise, Sudan is an extremely patriarchal country and gender norms are strongly enforced. It is a place where girls are allowed to be married at 10 years, there’s legal guardianship of men over women, women are told you have to walk a straight and narrow line and don’t transgress.”
The main concern is the criminalization of Noura for defending herself from rape and sexual assault and, in particular, a death sentence, would violate her rights under the Sudanese Constitution and international law says Human Rights activists.
It is yet to be seen if the demands being placed on the Government of Sudan to drop the charges against Noura and stopping her execution will be met. Also, another ask is to have the Penal code on rape be reviewed and enactment of laws protecting women and girls.
Activists in Sudan have collaborated with international activists in the past to bring much-needed changes to the rape laws and to free a young woman who had been gang-raped and then imprisoned for fornication.
A Change.org petition has been set up online to collect signatures in a petition against Noura’s execution sentence.
