In early July, Sudan once again gained the attention of the international media. This time the story was not about the exaggerated death toll of civil war in Darfur, or about the targeting of President Omar al-Bashir in the international imperialist courts, but about civilian women and their choice of dress.
 Dozens of women protest in support of Lubna Hussein outside the courthouse on Aug.4. |
Al-Hussein and two others demanded a public trial to draw attention to the injustice of the law and the punishment. Al-Hussein, a journalist herself, worked for the U.N. as a press journalist. She resigned the job in order to waive the immunity awarded those connected to the United Nations.
Al-Hussein explained that her goal is to eliminate Article 152 of the Sudanese penal code, of which the penalty for violating is 40 lashes for “indecent clothing” or immoral public acts. In a statement made to Al-Jazeera, al-Hussein strongly argued against the ambiguity of the law. She argued, “Trousers are the official uniform for Sudanese women soldiers and officers. … Are trousers un-Islamic for the general public but permissible for government workers? ”
She explained that this fight is not for her own benefit, but for every woman in Sudan who faces the harsh punishment of flogging, which is considered an international human rights violation. In solidarity with al-Hussein, women dressed in pants rallied outside the courthouse during her trial and were later fired upon with tear gas by police. Al-Hussein’s struggle against sexism has not gone unnoticed.
The court gave the options of paying a fine or serving a month in jail. In hopes of undermining the antiquated law, she chose jail time. Against her request, however, the Sudanese Union of Journalists paid the equivalent of a $200 bail. Al-Hussein protested her bail because it defeated the purpose of her choosing to go to jail.
The Party for Socialism and Liberation fully supports al-Hussein and the worldwide struggle for women’s rights. The PSL’s recognition of women’s oppression and the need to win full rights for women is very different from that of the capitalist ruling classes.
Imperialists in the United States, Britain, France and elsewhere constantly use the struggle for women’s rights as a means of pursuing their policies of war and exploitation. This deceptive tactic is used to generate popular opinion in favor of imperialist wars, encouraging the overthrow of governments that are non-compliant with the demands of imperialism.
People should see the double-speak and hypocrisy in the imperialist championing of women in countries targeted for intervention.
Women in the United States are legally allowed to wear the clothes of their choice. But an epidemic of violence persists. The National Organization for Women reports statistics from the National Crime Victimization Survey, “which includes crimes that were not reported to the police, 232,960 women in the U.S. were raped or sexually assaulted in 2006. That’s more than 600 women every day. … According to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, women experience about 4.8 million intimate partner-related physical assaults and rapes every year.”
One would think from its propaganda, however, that the U.S. government’s top priority is “women’s rights.” The United States and Britain have callously used a call for women’s rights as rationale for the occupation of Afghanistan—which has destroyed the lives of thousands of Afghani women over the last eight years.
Sudan, too, has been targeted by U.S. imperialism with the intention of robbing the country of its natural resources and national sovereignty to profit the U.S. banks and corporations.
In spite of our profound differences with the policy of the Sudanese government regarding the prosecution of Lubna Ahmed al-Hussein and the other women, the PSL also believes that it is imperative that all progressive forces stand with Sudan against imperialism, which seeks to dominate and possibly dismember the country.
The Party for Socialism and Liberation recognizes the arrest of al-Hussein as a sexist crime, and stands in solidarity with her courage as we, too, fight for women’s rights in the United States. Likewise we recognize the need for increased women’s rights in Sudanis not a rationale for continued imperialist intervention in Sudan. The PSL condemns any and all forms of U.S. imperialist intervention, and the use of the liberation struggle of women to justify such actions.
Lubna Hussein herself has made no statements other than those that support the struggle for women’s rights in Sudan. The target of the women’s protest at this time is the reactionary law that they rightly assert is incompatible with the constitution of Sudan and the rights of Sudanese women.
