Sharia Death Sentence for Amina Pending
Ainehi Edoro
Issue date: 11/8/02 Section: World News
On August 19, a Nigerian court of appeal sentenced 30-year old Amina Lawal to death by stoning for adultery. Her pregnancy was used as evidence for her having engaged in extra-marital intercourse out of which came an eight-month-old son.
Three years ago, some northern states in Nigeria began adopting the Sharia legal system which is based on an extreme interpretation of Islamic laws even though the Federal Government is opposed to its strict implementation. These laws, among others, cover moral and criminal cases. So far, Nigerian courts have ordered amputation and death for theft and adultery, respectively.
This is neither the first case of adultery brought before the Sharia Court of Appeal nor the first case in which a death sentence has been issued. Another woman, Safiya Husseini, who was also accused of adultery and given the death penalty in 2000, received a pardon earlier this year after much uproar from human rights activists all over the world.
Human rights activists say that penalties like stoning for adultery are both cruel and discriminatory against women.
"The legal system is being used to punish adult women for consensual sex," said LaShawn R. Jefferson, Executive Director of the Women's Rights Division of Human Right Watch in a Human Rights News article.
An official statement of the International Federation of Women Lawyers states in a Vanguard article, "In the three cases of conviction of adultery which attracted public interest, the women were convicted while their male associates were discharged with ease."
Human rights campaigners also point out that Amina's sentence is a violation of the Nigerian constitution and is inconsistent with Nigeria's obligation under the United Nation Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
Human rights organizations in Nigeria like National Coalition on Violation Against Women, Women Leadership Group (WLG), Women Advocate Research and Documentation Center (WARDC), Mothers in Nigeria and others are calling on the Federal Government of Nigeria to "guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Amina and her family by ensuring that the sentence is not carried out," quoted Vanguard since, "Nigeria is a signatory to international human rights instruments that condemn torture and any other form of cruel and inhumane treatment or discrimination against women."
Three years ago, some northern states in Nigeria began adopting the Sharia legal system which is based on an extreme interpretation of Islamic laws even though the Federal Government is opposed to its strict implementation. These laws, among others, cover moral and criminal cases. So far, Nigerian courts have ordered amputation and death for theft and adultery, respectively.
This is neither the first case of adultery brought before the Sharia Court of Appeal nor the first case in which a death sentence has been issued. Another woman, Safiya Husseini, who was also accused of adultery and given the death penalty in 2000, received a pardon earlier this year after much uproar from human rights activists all over the world.
Human rights activists say that penalties like stoning for adultery are both cruel and discriminatory against women.
"The legal system is being used to punish adult women for consensual sex," said LaShawn R. Jefferson, Executive Director of the Women's Rights Division of Human Right Watch in a Human Rights News article.
An official statement of the International Federation of Women Lawyers states in a Vanguard article, "In the three cases of conviction of adultery which attracted public interest, the women were convicted while their male associates were discharged with ease."
Human rights campaigners also point out that Amina's sentence is a violation of the Nigerian constitution and is inconsistent with Nigeria's obligation under the United Nation Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
Human rights organizations in Nigeria like National Coalition on Violation Against Women, Women Leadership Group (WLG), Women Advocate Research and Documentation Center (WARDC), Mothers in Nigeria and others are calling on the Federal Government of Nigeria to "guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Amina and her family by ensuring that the sentence is not carried out," quoted Vanguard since, "Nigeria is a signatory to international human rights instruments that condemn torture and any other form of cruel and inhumane treatment or discrimination against women."
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