About

Lubna al-Hussein is a Sudanese journalist and activist who gained international attention in July 2009 when she was prosecuted for wearing trousers. At the time of her arrest, she worked for the media department of the United Nations mission in Sudan and was known for her public criticism of the government’s policies. In July 2009, she and 12 others were taken into custody for “dressing indecently in public" – an offense that could be punishable by whipping. Hussein refused to plead guilty and demanded a trial. When the court fined her for her behavior, she chose to remain in prison instead, but was freed to avoid more international embarrassment for the government of Sudan.

Today, hundreds of thousands of Sudanese women are fired from their jobs for not wearing sufficient clothing; 91% of Sudanese women face female genital mutilation; the government uses rape as a weapon in Darfur and southern Sudan; and northern Sudan is stained by laws that punish child rape with only one month in prison. Adult women who are raped are not defended by the law - instead, they are forced into four months of prison. Here, Lubna wants to tell the world, and especially the youth of the world, that we should all speak up about the plight of women in Sudan. She cries out in the name of millions who do not have a voice, and wants us to join her.