40 days ago, Awadia Ajabna was killed by Sudan's police

Last week, the death of Awadia Ajabna, a young woman living in Al-Daim  shook Khartoum and the entire country as her relatives and angry youth took to the streets and protested. In a country where human life is cheap and 1.5 million died in the civil war and hundreds of thousands died in Darfur and otherplaces, it was interesting to see how one woman managed to capture the attention of a capital where the majority are apathetic to the suffering in the Sudan outside Central Sudan. 

Why did Awadia Ajabna become a national cause even more than the Manasir protest that went on for over 100 days?

Its surely not because she is a celebrity. Awadia worked in a kindergarten and came from a family that hails from the embattled Nuba Mountains, a periphery within a periphery. Two years ago, she ran in the national elections to represent Al Daim, the neighborhood she lives in, as part of the Sudanese National Labour Party. She was loved by her family and respected by her neighbors, but the way she died became the main source of anger and frustration.

According to her sister, the Public Order Police were patrolling the neighborhood. This police force is notorious and is known for using vague laws to extort money from men and women , they are despised in Sudan. Their main aim is to fight social corruption and they can arrest women for "indecent" clothing and men suspected of consuming alcohol.

Naturally, the meaning of indecent clothing is unclear and it is based on the opinion of the arresting officer. As they patrolled next to the Ajabna house, they stopped her brother and accused him of  being drunk. He was allegedly speaking on the phone and they most probably wanted to bully him into taking his phone as a compromise. The brother in question argued with them when things  heated up, the police forces retreated , but came back larger in number and armed. It remains unclear whether they raided the house, but what we are sure of is that Awadia was shot in the middle of a chaotic situation where a number of officers opened fire on her family and neighbors who are unarmed civilians.

She was killed by the public order police forces. When someone is shot in the head, you can not but say that this was a deliberate act.

Today, Amal Abbas, the veteran journalist and editor, writes in Al-Sahafa that " it is not strange that a civilian dies in front of her house in light of a regime that for two decades has enabled the culture of war and incriminated the other especially women in the practices of the public order police," 

It is also not strange that the public order police is armed. For years, it has degraded women in Sudan by restricting their dress and appearances in the public life and subjected them to public lashings. In 2010, right before the international day for human rights, a video appeared of a woman being lashed, violently.

Toni Morisson, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature, wrote in Newsweek Magazine, that she has seen "many instances of human brutality, but this one was particularly harrowing."
Morisson went on to describe how proud the woman in this video made her feel. She wrote "after each cut of the lash into your flesh, you tried to stand; you raised your body up like a counter-whip. It so moved me to see your reactions; I interpreted them as glimmers of hope, of principled defiance."

Only two years ago, the public order police killed another woman. Nadia Saboon, a simple tea lady was trying to make ends meet in a market in Khartoum. The public order police attacked the tea sellers and poor traders in the area in what is described as a "sweep". She ran for her life, but fell onto a metal stake and bled to death. Saboon died , but her story was not as publicized as Awadia's ordeal.

The difference is, this is the first documented time the public order police kills a woman in the safety of her house, in her comfort zone. 

Awadia's death inspired many protests. For days, youth protested on Sahafa street and inside Al-Daim. They held banners saying that "Awadia is a matryr. They said they want retribution. 

Protestors burned the public order police station in Al-Daim. They say that Ethiopians and tea ladies living there are particularly happy as the police officers working there used to blackmail them and subject them to humiliating abuses. 
The area was turned into a military zone. Police cars and trucks full of armored police officers caught my attention on my way to the funeral. 

The tear-gas was very intense inside alleys. People in Al-Daim say that an old grandmother died as a result of the intense tear-gas. A young girl studying at Sudan University called Omnia is currently being hospitalized as the tear gas bomb hit her on the head during the protest.

I'm particularly fond of Amal Abbas's daily column a few weeks ago, she ended it by saying that " let the events of Al-Daim be a trigger towards total change."

Sudan Youth Skip the Party

Unlike youths his age in other countries, 21-year-old Hamid Khalafallah, who lives in Khartoum, does not attend house parties.

"You never know when the sweep will strike," says the Sudanese Engineering student.

Sweep, also known as kasha in Sudan, are regular operations carried out by a special force called the Public Order Police to arrest beer drinkers and those engaging in 'other immoral acts'.

The force is a well-oiled state machinery that fights corruption of morals.

Launched after the current government came to power in a bloodless coup in 1989, the force is spread across the country.

From arresting "indecently dressed women" to cracking down on mixed sex house parties and tea ladies in markets, the public order forces use vague laws and their right to arrest and try the accused on the spot.

Even though Khalafallah has never been arrested at a party, he, just like most of his peers, was aware of the risk. He says that the "sweep" happens at least once a month.

A 19-year-old student, who calls himself DJ Biggie, has a different experience. He began partying four years ago and has been arrested several times.

Recently, while at a party in Riyadh, a suburb of Khartoum, the Public Order Police emerged and arrested him together with other guests.

"I was lucky I knew someone who could get me out before I was tried and fined," he recalls.

Although he was roughed up on the way to the police station, he was later freed. His friend wasn't as lucky.

"When they arrested my friend, they beat him really bad and shaved off his dreadlocks," says DJ Biggie.

Siha, a regional organisation working on women's issues, explains that the Public Order articles of the 1991 Sudanese criminal code emphasised "restrictions on women’s dress, conduct and manner of social interaction".

International attention

In 2009, a Sudanese journalist Lubna Hussein made international headlines and inspired a nationwide campaign against the Public Order laws when she refused to receive "40 lashes" for wearing indecent clothing.

Ms Hussein was arrested in a cafe while she was attending a concert along with other girls. And the arrests continue.

Recently, a crackdown by the same police force on a private party in an apartment in Khartoum led to the trial of a number of youth for adultery.

M.M.A, a youth activist who followed the case, observed that the Public Order laws were so flawed that the youth chose to be tried for adultery and get lashed instead of the actual crime they were accused of. His full name cannot be revealed for fear of reprisals by the force.

"Initially, they were arrested for the intention to commit adultery, even though it was just a party. Such a charge would send them to prison for a month and require them to pay a hefty fine, so they chose the easier way out," he said.

The easier way out was to be tried for adultery.

During the same week,, a young woman, Ms Awadia Ajabna, was shot dead by the Public Order Police forces after they accused her brother of consuming alcohol.

Ms Ajabana was caught up in the middle of the chaos.

Her death inspired a wave of condemnation against the police force that many hope will stop their arbitrary arrests and mistreatment.


published @ http://www.africareview.com/Special+Reports/Sudan+youths+keep+off+parties+to+beat+Public+Order+Police/-/979182/1366408/-/aoom0l/-/index.html

Paying for your rights

In Sudan, there is no rule of law, I believe.
I've been trying to convince myself that things in Sudan are "not that bad" for a while now.. but it is not working!
Sudanese people are known to use the word "ma3leesh" ( sorrry) and"mafi moshkela"( no problem) a lot. Something happens and we are quick to say not a big deal, thank god for everything else!
The war in Sudan is the longest-running war in Africa- it's ok, at least it's not the longest-running war in the world!
At least 2 million died in the war- well, 38 million are still living! Thank god for that!

But sometimes it's difficult to say mafi moshkela.

We have two stores in my house in Sudan. They are facing the main street and we usually rent them . A few years ago, we rented it to this guy who looks exactly like an arms dealer.
Anyways, a few years later, our deal with him was over and we wanted him out. He also didn't pay a penny in a very long time.
Apparently, the guy had contacts in the government. We had documents and we were the owners of the store. So, the court was on our side.

Wrong Answer.

I don't know how much it costs to bribe a judge , but he bribed him and we knew it.

Three years on, three lawyers and thousands of dollars later, he is out of OUR property.

I don't feel any better knowing that there is no rule of law in Sudan. I don't feel any better knowing that if you don't know the right people, you don't have any rights.

I can't help but wonder if my mother's friend gave us the best advice when she said " hire a few thugs, let them break into the store and smash everything there"
I mean I don't support violence , but what do you do to get your rights in Sudan?

Take up arms like the rebels. Be gangster about it. Bribe or my favorite, sleeping with an official to get what you want ( according to my sources: it works!)

A reply to Popovich's post about FGM

This is a reply to Popovich, an Australian blogger who read my post on FGM at Pommygranate's blog.
Here it is,
http://www.taoofdefiance.com/2007/06/08/female-genital-mutilation-an-islamic-practice/

I have to admit that his reply was well-searched and well-written however, I would like to point out a few things.
"Except the part where she uses the term Female Genital Circumcision, but than refers to it as FGM thereafter, which actually stands for Female Genital Mutilation. A telling manifestation of double-think right there, I’d say.""

Female Genital Mutilation( FGM) or Female Genital Cutting (FGC) or Female Circumcision are all terms used to describe the same practice. I just used the terms interchangeably.

"Anyway, what is important is how a person justifies their actions - is it because “that's just how we do things round here” (ie. a cultural practice, like shaking hands in the West or rubbing noses amongst the Eskimos), or is it because the practice is made compulsory or recommended by their religious belief system? "

Ok..are all cultural practices derived from religion?

"The question is does Islam give justification for the practice?"

In a Hadith not in the Qu'ran. I will explain the difference in a while.
"Anyhow, are there any Christian priests in Ghana giving religious justification for FGM or does it exist despite the opposition of the Church? "

Surprise..Surprise!
"In primarily Christian countries (for instance, Ghana), women undergoing circumcision make reference to the practice in the Old Testament, being performed by one of Abraham's wives, Sarah. However Genesis 17:23-27 only mentions circumcision being performed on male members of the household, and not by Sarah."

I also want to add that FGM was discouraged by priests, female Muslim activists and christian missionaries in Ghana but it still continues to exist because it is a cultural practice of course.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_genital_mutilation



"FGM is certainly “obligatory” in most schools of Islam. In most schools it is seen as “noble”, “honorable” and “recommended”, but not obligatory."
The Maliki school holds that female circumcision is Sunnah, while Hanafi school as well as a reported view from the Hanbli school maintain that it is not sunnah; rather it is merely a makrumah (customarily recommended act, but no provisions in the Qur’an or Sunnah obligate nor recommend it). The Shafi`i school, on the other hand, and the famous view of the Hanbali school are of the opinion that it is mandatory as in the case of male circumcision.


"Anyhow, Kizzie sites three example here, two of conferences and one of a “meeting” of Muslim scholars where FGM was denounced. Note that all three events are from the last 2 years."

Fair enough!
I just mentioned recent conferences. I didn't know that I have to present a whole list of conferences held in the 20th and 21st century.

You have to keep in mind that:
-Most of the action taken to stop this practice was initiated by the UN for e.g:-
"n 1989, the Regional Committee of the WHO for Africa passed a resolution urging participating governments "to adopt appropriate policies and strategies in order to eradicate female circumcision" and "to forbid medicalization of female circumcision and to discourage health professionals from performing such surgery."
"In 1980, UNICEF announced that its anti-FGM program is "based on the belief that the best way to handle the problem is to trigger awareness through education of the public, members of the medical profession and practitioners of traditional health care with the help of local collectives and their leaders."
-Many of the conferences held in Africa in the 1990's discussed fgm in the context of "HIV prevention".
-Most of the conferences held in Africa to discuss fgm alone were held recently (e.g:- Al Azhar conference/international conference against fgm in 2001).
http://www.religioustolerance.org/fem_cirm.htm

"I do wonder though whether these denouncement draw a distinction between “female circumcision” and FGM, by which some Muslims only refer to infibulation.
FGM"
Female circumcision and FGM are two different terms referring to the same thing. Infibulation is a type of fgm, it is the most severe type.

"I also wonder why it took 14 centuries for these denouncements to come out. Where are the Fatwas banning the practice, other than those against Infibulation, the most severe of the four forms, prior to the the 21st century? Why did the scholars not try to rid of the Islamic world of this barbaric practice before Western influence shamed them into doing so? Why was a German human rights group needed to start the conference in the first place?"

I agree with you. In fact I'm asking myself the same question. I can't answer this question but I do have some ideas. First of all, I'm going to talk about Sudan for now. Sudan was the first country to ban fgm (1946 I believe!) but fgm has become part of the traditional sudanese culture and not only were the laws not properly enforced but even if they were properly enforced, it was going to take more than just laws to stop this practice. It's going to take a few generations to completely stop this practice.

I want to add that the Egyptian Health Minister did ban fgm in the 1990's but sadly, it didn't last long. In other words, the fgm debate is not at all recent but the action taken against it is recent.

"As for “Muslim scholars from all over the world [..] working together to ban its practice” (I am only seeing scholars from Al-Azhar)""
When conferences are held in Al Azhar, muslim scholars from all over the world are invited to attend.
"TARGET, a German human rights group, sponsored a conference on FGM in Cairo, Egypt. Muslim scholars from many nations attended"
""Egypt's two top Islamic clerics, Mohammed Sayed Tantawi, the Grand Sheik of Al-Azhar, the foremost theological institute in the Sunni Muslim world, and Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa, attended the conference, which drew scholars from as far afield as Russia."

http://www.religioustolerance.org/fem_cirm.htm

"well, what about all the Muslim scholars all over the world encouraging it and using the Sunnah to justify it? They certainly seem to have the superior numbers."

I never said that all Muslim scholars or even all Muslims are against fgm. I just said that a lot of people are becoming aware of its dangers and are recognizing it as a social costum not a religious "fard".

"Before I start quoting some of these scholars, here are some quotations from the Hadiths that are commonly used to justify the practice"

You have to know that there is a difference between Hadith and the Qu'ran. The Qu'ran takes precedence because it’s the words of God. A similar thing is found in Judaism. I was discussing the similarities between Islam and Judaism with a Jewish guy a couple of months ago and he told me that they have a similar thing in Judaism (Hadith and Talmud/ Torat and Quran). He said that the Torah (Old Testament) takes precedence, like the Qu'ran does. And if things in the Talmud go against the Torah, then it is not permitted. Same type of deal as hadiths/sunnah vs qu'ran. There are many Jewish laws in the Talmud that most Jews are not aware of or don't practice.

"In Egypt we have four and a half million spinsters. The definition of a spinster is a woman who has reached 30, without ever receiving a marriage proposal. We have a spinster problem in the Arab world, and the last thing we want is for them to be sexually aroused. Circumcision of the girls who need it makes them chaste, dignified, and pure. "

personal opinion.

"FGM is a part of Islamic culture, it is an Islamic practice, which came to Indonesia with Islam and did not exist there prior."

-ok..I believe it is an old african practice that was incorporated into Islamic culture. I mentioned before that culture is heavily influenced by religion and vice versa. (e.g:- many people believe that many of the sufi traditions in sudan come from cultural values not religious ones).

"“The religious view is, if you are not circumcised you won’t have clean genitals after urinating. If then you pray, your prayer won’t be legal.”

This is not a religious view at all.

"The above dove-tails perfectly with what the religious arguments above - it is not an obligation, but an “honourable practice”. But far disturbing still are stories about the hundreds, if not thousands of Christian women from Indonesia’s Molucca Islands who were forcibly converted to Islam and in the process forcibly circumcised:""

I'm not even going to comment on this simply because I'm against forced conversions!

"Well, Kizzie, in a post-9/11 world Westerners have begun to take greater note of the fact that many Muslims use religion as justification for murder."

Is it fair to assume that all the crimes commited by muslims are committed in the name of Islam?


http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar/FatwaE/FatwaE&cid=1119503548446 ( this might answer the very interesting verses you presented)

http://www.afrol.com/html/Categories/Women/backgr_fighting_fgm.htm