stopping stoning women in nigeria: half way there

1. Stopping Stoning Women in Nigeria: Half Way There? Ayesha Imam Launch of the Global Stop Killing and Stoning Women Campaign Istanbul November 26, 2007

6. Defense of those convicted under the new Sharia Penal Codes (1)

7. Defense of those convicted under the new Sharia Penal Codes (2) Through appealing, the use of arguments in fiqh would help to expose the deficiencies in the acts and the bias against women in their implementation. It would also promote alternative juristic views to the conservative positions being insisted upon by the religious right and conservatives as the only authentic, legitimate position in Muslim laws. Although the appeals were argued in the Sharia court system, they drew on rights in Nigerian constitutional law on the grounds that the Sharia Penal Codes and the Sharia courts themselves are governed by the Nigerian Constitution. An acquittal, unlike a pardon, indicates that no conviction should have been made and thus is a vindication of the person wrongly convicted. to demonstrate that people have a right to appeal and to challenge injustices, including those perpetrated in the name of religion. Therefore, in defense of those convicted under the Sharia Penal Codes, NGOs came together to support victims through the appeals. These began with BAOBAB for Women�s Human Rights and its supporting legal strategy team and include the Coalition for the Protection of Women�s Rights in Secular, Customary and Religious Laws (sixty NGOs) and the Sharia Stakeholders Group (18 NGOs and individuals).

8. Demystifying Muslim Laws (Sharia) Explaining that Sharia is not divine but merely religious and is neither uniform nor unchanging. Critiquing the class- and gender-bias in content and implementation. The poor have been the most subjected to harsh punishments. �White collar� crime treated more leniently. There have been fewer convictions of men than of women for zina. Moreover, men convicted of violent sexual offenses, like rape and sexual assault, have received less severe punishments, despite the stronger punishments available in the Sharia Penal Codes that are routinely meted out for consensual sex outside marriage. Women have clearly been discriminated against. Judges have ignored or dismissed women�s allegations of rape and coercion in zina cases. Charges of adultery/fornication brought against women used different and discriminatory standards of evidence than those used for men � that of pregnancy outside marriage. Bringing this information and criticism to public discussion debunks the claim that any critique of Sharianization is tantamount to being anti-Islam. It also lays the basis for the demand for demanding reform of the Sharia Acts and Sharia Penal Codes, instead of accepting conservative and retrograde versions.

9. Working Together to Defend Women�s Rights It is important, in a diverse multi-ethnic and multi-religious state like Nigeria to work across communities, as well as within Muslim communities. the Coalition for Protection of Women�s Rights in Secular, Customary and Religious Laws and the Sharia Stakeholders Group include national NGOs and smaller regionally based NGOs from different parts of the country; women�s and human rights NGOs and activists; Muslims, Christians, and others They work together on the zina cases, and on other cases where �culture� and �tradition� are used to violate women�s rights and justify violence against women.

10. Effects of these strategies (1) The judgment in Ms. Lawal�s case is important, adding to the prior successful appeals. Although it sets a precedent only in Katsina State, the definitions of zina are exactly the same in the twelve states with new Sharia Penal Codes, which should make it difficult to ignore. The majority position was sweeping, accepting almost every single ground of the appeal. The Katsina State Sharia Court of Appeal expressly departed from the dominant view of the Maliki School by holding that pregnancy outside of marriage is not evidence of zina thus confirming the arguments of the activists on the existence and permissibility of diversity in Muslim jurisprudence. confessions need to be voluntary and repeated and that confessions can be withdrawn at any point right up to the commencement of the sentence. In so doing, the court implied that the prosecution needed to provide proof in the form of four witnesses of good character to the act of intercourse for women also, which is a standard position in Muslim jurisprudence and a difficult criterion to achieve

11. Effects of these strategies (2) Within Muslim communities, many people have become publicly critical about the Sharia Penal Codes. Muslim women continue to defy the religious right and vigilantes by dressing as they see fit, going outside their homes, and working outside the household. As the appeals succeed, and none have yet been lost, those convicted under the new Sharia Penal Codes are increasingly and publicly seeking help, and women�s rights activists no longer have persuade them that appealing is acceptable. More people are now aware of the historicity and culture, class, and gender specificity of particular provisions in Muslim laws, the existence of progressive alternatives, and the legitimacy of dissent and diversity in Muslim discourses. More and more Muslims are speaking up critically about the current Muslim laws. There have been no new prosecutions for adultery since 2003.

12. Effects of these strategies (3) There are also hopeful developments in non-Muslim communities, which constitute 50-60 percent of Nigeria�s population. Coverage in the largely southern-based national press has remained critical of what has been happening in Sharianization, but with fewer of the stereotypical attitudes that could be used to justify further backlashes in the Muslim communities.

13. The International Arena There were thousands of petitions in many languages, aimed at defending Ms. Lawal (more than 31,300 hits in a Google search). International solidarity is important to local rights struggles, and international campaigns and petitions have the potential to be spectacularly successful, as in the case of Zara Yacoub in Tchad in the mid-1990s. However, how solidarity is demonstrated is critical and must depend on the specific context. In the case of Ms. Lawal, the NGOs supporting their appeals felt that huge (and often stereotypical) media coverage and international petitions would not be appropriate. It seems that very little notice of this was taken, however, given the plethora of protests, petitions, and campaigns, not a few issued by international human rights organisations. Although the concern expressed worldwide was heartwarming, how it was expressed sometimes hindered the actual protection and defense of women�s human rights in Nigeria

14. What did not help in this case? The language of the petitions assumed the �cruel�, �inhuman�, and �barbaric� punishments of Islamic law and �inherent misogyny� of Islam, without recognising dissident views within Muslim communities of these norms.- legitimates the Religious Right to speak for all Muslims.- helps fuel defensiveness and backlashes in Muslim communities Several asserted quite inaccurately that the Supreme Court of Nigeria had upheld Ms. Lawal�s conviction and therefore that the carrying out of the sentence was imminent.- protests are generally dismissed as alarmist and uninformed- if it had come to that point (when a worldwide protest would have been useful) there might have been �petition-fatigue� The most widely circulated petition also included false claims that similar petitions had led to pardons in previous cases in Nigeria- implies that outside pressure is more important than in constructing local rights cultures - refuses credit to work of local groups in achieving acquittals- refuses respect to local groups in formulating their on-the-ground strategy Petitions also called for the president of Nigeria to veto or repeal the Sharia Acts. They also called on the President to pardon Ms. Lawal.- the Federal President has no legal authority to do either act.

15. What international solidarity did help this case? (1) WLUML respected the Nigerian groups� request not to circulate an international alert . It used its networks to develop arguments that aided the successful appeals. WLUML also continually stressed and gradually convinced its partners in Nigeria of the need to provide information internationally. WLUML then helped to craft and disseminate such messages by posting them on its website. Similarly, when alerted to the inaccuracies and dangers of the petitions, the IAWJ circulated appeals not to support them, asked how they could support the defense efforts, publicized material, and helped raise funds to cover the legal costs of the defenses. Following BAOBAB�s open letter asking for a cessation of the international petitions, both the Amnesty International Secretariat and Amnesty�s US country section responded, issuing press releases distancing themselves from the petitions and supporting the local groups. Following the appeals not to sign onto the petitions, many organizations and individuals contacted the Nigerian defense teams to check out subsequent petitions. Several others also posted the open letters on their websites, thus helping to counter the damage done by the inaccurate petitions.

16. What international solidarity did help this case? (2) A few individuals and organizations sent donations to support the work. Throughout, sensitively written letters helped to move discussion forward e.g. Hajiya Aisha Ismail, then Minister for Women�s Affairs, remarked how helpful she had found a letter from Shirkat Gah (a Pakistani women�s NGO) in her remonstrances with the Governor of Zamfara State over Bariya Magazu (the first whipping case) Many people responded to the early appeal to help craft arguments and provide material on zina and the successes and failures of strategies and tactics in other countries. These examples of international solidarity were not uncritical; however, they relied on dialogue and negotiation when there were disagreements over analysis and strategy ? and some shifts of both local and international strategy and policy did take place.

17. Half Way There? Strategies for Moving Forward There have been no stonings. There have been no more prosecutions for adultery (stoning sentences). BUT There continue to be prosecutions for fornication � often with sentences carried out before defendants are aware of their right to appeal and/or have legal representation. The laws remain on the books There continue to be vigilante groups attempting to use Islam to enforce social and political control over women and their sexuality, including via violence. What to do? There�s local work to do - having established strong defenses against the prosecution of zina offences, Nigerian women�s and human rights groups recognize the necessity of moving forward on reforming the laws.

18. Half Way There? Strategies for Moving Forward (2) Informed and respectful international solidarity is needed. This requires raising awareness of the issues globally � considering also the commonalities of the ways in which religions and cultures have been used as pretexts to justify violence against women especially over women�s sexuality Reaching out to make alliances and build bridges with those who oppose violence against women and support women�s rights and autonomy Ensuring that this issue is taken up as a priority in the international community � including the international and regional human rights mechanisms Strengthening the willingness and ability of local groups to negotiate with and influence the strategies of international organizations We�re half-way there � Let�s move on and finish the job!