NCP's Article 146: Stoning women to death since 1991

A couple of days ago I read that a 15-year-old girl has been sentenced to “death by stoning” for allegedly committing adultery and consequently admitting her guilt. The report, forwarded to me from a credible source, cited that a Sudanese judge found the female minor, Intisar, guilty of committing adultery and sentenced her to death by stoning – a sentence which apparently comes in accordance with Article 146 of the Sudanese criminal law. 

The report stated: 

Intisar Sharif Abdalla was accused of having a relationship and becoming pregnant by a man that wasn’t her husband. Initially she and the man with whom she was accused both denied this. Her lawyer, only able to access her after the judgement was made, understands that following her initial denial she was beaten up and tortured repeatedly by her brother. She then changed her statement and confessed to adultery. Based on this evidence she was taken to court and the Judge, Sami Ibrahim Shabo of Ombada General Criminal Court, Khartoum state, sentenced her to stoning after one court session and in the absence of legal representation in court. 

The woman in question is understood to be a minor, between 15 and 17 years old. She is understood to be deeply traumatized and is without access to suitable psycho-social support. Her new-born child is also with her in prison. Her co-accused maintained his statement in denying adultery and has subsequently not been convicted. 

I was trying my best to absorb this shocking piece of news, and to come to terms with the fact that the atrocities of the NCP against women have recently been vigorously extending into Khartoum, the capital, meaning that things are now probably a million times worse in Darfur, the Nuba Mountains and the numerous regions of NCP-inflicted conflict where documentations of human rights violations are nil to rare. 

As I tried to wrap my brain around this nightmare of a situation, expecting to feel rage, sadness and disgust, all my initial thoughts and feelings were severely interrupted after witnessing the reactions of people within my community. Not only did they not condemn it, they supported the stoning sentence. I felt as though the NCP has taken us on a journey back to medieval times. 

In Iran, a woman is half-buried before she is stoned to death

Having lived and worked in Sudan for quite some time now, and with my involvement in many political activities, I had convinced myself in the past that the people’s overwhelming silence against the NCP’s oppression is not necessarily due to their support of the NCP, nor is it due to their acceptance of the countless human rights violations taking place in their own land… rather it is the fruit of their fear; fear of the NCP, fear of instability, fear of inconvenience. Some don’t want their lives to be disrupted, others are afraid to advocate for their fellow brethren… in all cases I made peace with that and relentlessly defended them whenever the argument “the Sudanese people are apathetic and no revolution will come to Sudan” came up, citing that 23 years of brainwashing is not easily reversed. 

However, with Intisar’s stoning sentence, and the opinion of mainstreamers (as someone on Twitter pointed out to me) leaning towards backing Article 146, namely because the young girl allegedly confessed or because she deserves the sentence since she brought it onto herself, I came to another conviction – that sometimes, in certain cases, it’s better to be apathetic towards your own people’s struggles. 

I was, and still am, unable to fathom how people who refer to themselves as Muslims can condone such an act of brutality. I pictured it many, many times in my head… a woman, 15-year-old girl to be exact, standing in the middle of an expanse, the cries of her baby ringing in her ears, standing helplessly as stones are being thrown at her, disfiguring her face and body, ultimately leading to her death. Not only does this act not relate to Islam in any way, shape or form, but the mere thought of it is gag inducing. 

I choose to believe one thing – that Islam is a religion of love, mercy and compassion. The Prophet himself, PBUH, called on the gentle treatment of women… how could he have simultaneously promoted such a callous law? I don’t wish to delve into the validity of such a ruling in Islamic teachings, I simply find it ludicrous and will not waste my time searching for proof of its existence or lack thereof. The only proof I need lies within my own spirituality. 

When I think about this poor girl possibly being stoned to death, my blood boils with rage, and I can’t help but think… what about the prevalent rape and torture cases across the Sudanese states? The illegal political detentions? The instutionalized racism and tribalism? The displacement of civilians? The victims of war? They all go unpunished, just like that? And no one condemns them, even? Okay, what about her partner in crime? Is he off the hook because his brother didn't beat a confession out of him? Does this mean that as long as you don't confess it, it doesn't count and you can't die for it? If she is going to die for committing adultery, shouldn't the scenario be her stoning alongside her co-accused, or no stoning at all? Or is stoning only convenient and acceptable when the recipient is a female?

It seems convenient to many people in my community to only condemn acts of scandalous magnitudes; such as consensual sex (or adultery if you will), and to only target the female counterpart – as though she gave birth to a baby by having sex with herself.. If that’s not the case, then shouldn’t at least half of Khartoum be lashed, stoned, beaten or arrested for violating one form of moral law or the other? If we are all playing god here, why doesn’t everyone fess up to their crimes, or scandalous deeds, and await their very own lashing and stoning sentences? Isn’t this the point, to “become pure and relieve sins”? Or do the sins of only certain people count? Perhaps no one else has had consensual sex in Sudan, and everyone is pious and sinless?

I guess dictatorship yields dictatorship. The NCP’s efforts to turn the people of Sudan into heartless dictators under the umbrella of religion, just like their ruling party, seem to have come to fruition. If a mute conscience is a silent devil, then let us all go back to the time when mainstreamers were silent devils… they certainly are considered the lesser of two evils. 

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