Nigerian woman appeals stoning sentence

[Jules]

Nigerian stoning appeal heard
Wednesday, August 27, 2003 Posted: 12:00 PM EDT (1600 GMT)


KATSINA, Nigeria (AP) -- Baby in her arms, a single mother condemned by an Islamic court to death by stoning has appeared at a courthouse in northern Nigeria for an appeal of a sentence that has drawn an international outcry.

Amina Lawal, 32, in a blue and brown dress and pink veil, seemed overwhelmed at the crush Wednesday of riot police and journalists. "All these cameras, all these policemen," she said, tears in her eyes, as she made her way inside.

Thirty-five riot police ringed the courthouse, the heaviest security yet in what has been more than a year of off-and-on hearings.

Lawal was convicted in March 2002 after the birth of her girl, Wasila, out of wedlock. An Islamic court found her guilty of adultery even though her baby was born more than two years after her divorce.

Under Islamic laws, or Shariah, adopted in a dozen predominantly Muslim northern Nigerian states, judges ordered Lawal buried up to her neck in sand and then stoned to death.

The alleged father of the baby denied responsibility and was acquitted.

Judges have postponed carrying out Lawal's sentence until her child is weaned.

"Amina is very worried. Sometimes she can't eat. She wants to see the end of this case so that she can marry and have a normal life," said her uncle, 50-year-old Magaji Liman.

Officials of Katsina state have insisted the case go through the judicial appeals process despite requests by Nigeria's federal government that Lawal be freed.

Lawal's lawyers were due to present defense arguments at Wednesday's hearings. It had been unclear whether the hearing would even be held.

Past hearings have repeatedly been canceled, in what some have suspected is an attempt to deflect attention following international campaigns against the sentence by rights movements and women's groups.

You know, liberals like Bill Maher who want us to examine why the Muslim world hates us so much, should perhaps also insist that the Muslim world examine why the West hates it so much. This case makes me sick!

[Shi Huangdi]

These judges who sentenced her may be in a rude suprise after they die when they find out how God feels about stuff like this...

[Dinner]

The northern half of Nigeria is Islamic while the southern half is Christian. When ever you see an article about something stupid in Nigeria it will almost always be from the north.

On another note why doesn't the guy get stoned to death as well if adultery is such a horrible thing? Damn, sexist primitives.

[chequita guevara]

Re: Nigerian woman appeals stoning sentence

Originally posted by Jules
You know, liberals like Bill Maher who want us to examine why the Muslim world hates us so much, should perhaps also insist that the Muslim world examine why the West hates it so much. This case makes me sick!

What does Bill Maher have to do with this?

Evil like this isn't simply part of the Muslim world. You should study up on the Magdelene Laundries in Ireland to see what Christians in the modern world are capable of doing to young women who show signs of sexuality. Fundimentalists are the enemies of humanity, regardless of their specific creed.

What I want to know is why this woman hasn't fled the North of Nigeria for the Christian and animist South.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Oerdin
On another note why doesn't the guy get stoned to death as well if adultery is such a horrible thing? Damn, sexist primitives.

Because they can't prove he was the father, while the fact that she had a child is evidence that she did have sex. That's the excuse, anyway, but really, it's about controling women. Africa, Muslim, Christian, and Animist, are almost all despicable towards women. At least one Muslim country is rather enlightened in its treatment of women: Morocco. Algeria was, but the fundies there have been slaughtering women there.

[Dinner]

Re: Re: Nigerian woman appeals stoning sentence

Originally posted by chegitz guevara
What I want to know is why this woman hasn't fled the North of Nigeria for the Christian and animist South.

That would be my plan if I was her.

[chequita guevara]

I know she's been in hiding in a diferent city, but it's still in the North.

[Jules]

Re: Re: Nigerian woman appeals stoning sentence

Originally posted by chegitz guevara
What does Bill Maher have to do with this?

Evil like this isn't simply part of the Muslim world. You should study up on the Magdelene Laundries in Ireland to see what Christians in the modern world are capable of doing to young women who show signs of sexuality. Fundimentalists are the enemies of humanity, regardless of their specific creed....

Oh, I agree with that absolutely, and that was exactly my point. Both the Western world and the Muslim world have a lot of soul-searching to do. It's not just a simple matter of "only one side is to blame." In the thread about an autistic boy dying during a fundie exorcism in Milwaukee, we see that this kind of ignorance exists in the US as well. I brought up Bill Maher because IMO he tends to portray the West (specifically the US) as more to blame.

[Spiffor]

This thing spans for a long time now. Last time a stoning had been ordered, international pressure had Nigeria's central power force the Northern fundamentalists to drop it.
There was a strong mobilization for Amina Lawal too (at least in the media I read, I hear about it about once a month). Let's hope it'll have the central authority move once again. Let's hope they'll get rid of the sharia and these fundamentalist *******s

[our_man]

Nigeria is meant to be a secular state. It's just that the Muslims in the north are flexing their muscles to see how much they can get away with it. If Lagos continues to ignore whats going on in the north, more and more incidents like these will take place. They ought to put their foot down and remind these people that Nigeria is a secular state.

There's something I've been wondering about with regard to cases like these. Sharia is Islamic Law. Why don't these women simply convert to another religion and argue as they are no longer Muslim they have no right to be tried in an Islamic court.

This is just common sense to me, so why don't they do it to escape death?

[Shi Huangdi]

The Magdalene Laundries is not something widespread nor is there anything in Catholic doctrine requiring anything like that, rather it was the evil actions of some individual Catholics. Unfortunately, the actions of the sharia judges do find support in the Quran.

[Spiffor]

The Old Testament orders to stone women to death if they didn't scream enough when raped.

The problem is not the antics of these outdated pieces of dogma. The problem is that some people or countries base their laws on them

[Shi Huangdi]

Originally posted by Spiffor
The Old Testament orders to stone women to death if they didn't scream enough when raped.

The problem is not the antics of these outdated pieces of dogma. The problem is that some people or countries base their laws on them

It's still not the same thing. While there are a minority of Christians who believe the Bible is literally and inerrantly true, they are a minority within Christianity and Bible inerrancy can't truly be said to be a Christian belief. Whereas with a Islam, the teaching about the Koran is that it was sent by God to correct problems with previous scripture, and it is perfect and literally true.

[St Leo]

liberals like Bill Maher

Since when is Bill Maher liberal? I've caught a few episodes of Politically Incorrect and they always had a conservative slant.

You don't have to call for the keeping of women and blacks in cages in order to be considered conservative.

The problem is not the antics of these outdated pieces of dogma. The problem is that some people or countries base their laws on them

/me recalls a certain recent Alabama courthouse incident

[Pekka]

I thought they agreed not to stone her because of international pressure? I guess I remember wrong.

But, for us to criticize Islam, sharia laws, the east etc, that makes us racist pigs who do not understand culture, and the fact that we have raped them all keeps them back. So that makes us mega bastards. We should shut up. The question is why they hate us!

For them to hate us, that's ok. They are more poor, so they can say what they want. They are not racist, even though they have massgatherings shouting death to west and all that propaganda. But that's cool. We still have better weapons .