Lubna Hussein said she intended to (continue) campaigning from outside Sudan to stop women from being (prosecuted) for what they wear. Dressed in trousers and a jacket, she was speaking alongside the French foreign (minister), Bernard Kouchner, who praised her for showing the courage to rebel. The 43 year-old (defied) a travel ban by leaving Sudan dressed in a head-to-toe Islamic niqab.
Her book Forty Lashes for a Pair of Trousers, (published) in French, describes her struggle with Sharia law that (culminated) in her arrest in a Khartoum restaurant for wearing slacks. Ms Hussein turned her trial into a test case for women's rights. Amid much (publicity) the authorities changed her (sentence) from 40 lashes to a fine. She says the repression is still happening, citing a recent case where a teenager was punished for breaching (decency) laws.
Lubna Hussein: 'Unfortunately police (arrested) a girl - her age is 16. And also without defence, without lawyer, without (witness), flog her 50 lashes.'
Lubna Hussein accuses the Sudanese (authorities) of misrepresenting Islam, arguing that nothing in the Koran justifies (punishing) women for their dress. The French foreign minister said more than 40,000 women were arrested in or near the Sudanese (capital) last year in similar cases.
