In Sudan a woman was put on trial for wearing a blouse that was too sheer and pants that were deemed too tight. Originally the court threatened lashes but after she was found guilty they punishment was changed to a fine. Lubna al-Hussein was sentenced to pay 500 Sudanese pounds, which is 209 dollars and when she refused to pay was put in jail. She was a journalist working for the U.N., but resigned her job in order to waive her immunity. She felt that she must face trail as a matter of principal in an attempt to have conservative Muslim law declared unconstitutional. Al-Hussein could be in jail for a month while waiting on an appeal. Outside of the courtroom protests where held where police threw teargas at al-Hussein supporters, injured some and arrested 47 women.
Cases like this are becoming more common as even conservative Muslim countries are being introduced to western trends such as tight pants (though it’s unlikely her pants would be considered tight by our standards). Many women are beginning to wear questionable things in the eyes of their government although there are often physical punishments. In Sudan a woman can be given up to 40 lashes for indecency. Also, the fact that the Sudanese government so violently controlled the protestors tells me that they are worried about the new influences on their population. The strong reaction to people supporting western influences is used to suppress any opposition to their laws and to frighten women into obeying despite their disagreement with the policies. The policies of the government infringe on the rights of the people to peacefully protest and the use of lashings as a punishment is against the international human rights standards.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/09/07/sudan.journalist.pants.lashing/index.html
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