September 8, 2009

Woman Jailed For Wearing Pants

In Sudan, it is not only illegal for women to wear pants but the punishment is 40 lashes. You read that right....40 lashes from a plastic whip. A public flogging for pants. Unbelievable.

Lubna Hussein was recently arrested along with some friends who were meeting for lunch, all dressed in loose fitting women's trousers. They were deemed to be prostitutes, arrested and lashed. Except, that is, for Lubna, who plead not guilty. Her trial concluded on Monday and CNN is now reporting that after refusing to pay a fine, she was jailed.

Curiously, there has been no word on all this from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is famous for sporting pants almost exclusively. You would think the outspoken Clinton would have something to say or do regarding this arcane, misogynistic law. Let's just hope that, with all this international attention, Lubna won't be in jail for long.