Source:New York Daily News Sudan’s public order law lets police officers publicly whip women who are accused of public indecency. The woman in this YouTube video was reportedly riding in a car with a man who wasn’t her husband or an immediate family member.
A disturbing new YouTube video shows a Sudanese woman crying out in pain during a public flogging.
She was reportedly guilty of riding in a car with a man who wasn’t her husband or an immediate family member, an offense that is prohibited by Sudan’s public order law.
The woman, reportedly named Halima, crouches on the ground and tries to cover her head with a light pink cloth while a police officer walks around her with a whip, stopping to aim before lashing out at her body.
At about 0:39 seconds into the video, the police officer warns the woman, “This is so you don’t get into cars anymore,” according to France24.
The woman was reportedly guilty of violating Sudan’s public order law, which prohibits women from acts of public indecency. She was allegedly riding in a car with a man she wasn’t related to.
The video was anonymously sent to a journalist, who uploaded it on Sept. 17. It is unclear when the incident took place.
The accents in the video suggest it was filmed around Khartoum, Sudan’s capital city.
Khartoum’s governor, Abdul Rahman Al Khidir, reportedly said that he didn’t think the flogging was properly carried out. According to Opposing Views, he still thought the woman was “rightfully punished according to the Shar’ia law.”
Shar’ia law, a system of Islamic religious laws, is widely interpreted by Muslim communities around the world.
Sudan’s Public Order Law came into effect after General Omar al-Bashir took over as the country’s president during a 1989 military coup.
According to women’s rights activists, the law allows police officers to dole out punishments at their own discretion.
The "personal status" laws found in several conservative countries around the world are often vaguely worded, according to Cristina Finch, the managing director of Amnesty International's Women's Human Rights program.
"Public indecency laws can be interpreted widely, " Finch told The News. "But this is not a matter of culture or religion. Women's rights are universal and governments have an obligation under international human rights law to respect, protect, and fulfill those rights. "
Sudan's law drew international attention earlier this month after a Sudanese woman was arrested for refusing to wear a headscarf. Amira Osman Hamed, a 35-year-old engineer and activist, could get up to 40 lashes if she is convicted of the crime, according to Amnesty International.
A judge agreed to postpone Hamed’s trial until Nov. 4 after pressure from international activists.
