A Sudanese woman who refuses to cover her hair under the country’s morality law has appeared in court and her case was adjourned until Nov. 4, her lawyer said.
Amira Osman Hamed, 35, has said she is prepared to be flogged to defend the right to leave her hair uncovered in defiance of what she has called a “Taleban“—like law.
“The defense asked the court that the charges against this woman be withdrawn, and the court adjourned the hearing until Oct. 4 while it considers the request,” Moezz Hadhra told AFP.
Hamed’s case has drawn support from civil rights activists and is the latest to highlight Sudan’s series of laws governing morality that took effect after the 1989 coup by President Omar Al-Bashir.
“They want us to be like Taleban women,” Hamed said in an interview with AFP this month, referring to the militant movement in Afghanistan.
She is charged under Article 152 which prohibits “indecent” clothing.
Hamed said she was visiting a government office in Jebel Aulia, just outside Khartoum, on August 27 when a policeman told her to cover her head.
“This public order law changed Sudanese women from victims to criminals,” Hamed, a divorced computer engineer who runs her own company, told AFP.
“This law is targeting the dignity of Sudanese people.”
Sudan engineer in court for refusing to cover her hair
