Theinhuman verdict of death by stoning of 30 year old divorcee Amina Lawal foradultery was upheld on August 19 by a Sharia court of appeal in Futuna,Northern Nigeria. It has sent waves of protest throughout the world urging theNigerian Federal Government to intervene and grant clemency to Amina. The deathpenalty for offences such as adultery is unconstitutional according to NigerianFederal law.
Amina, whose solecrime is to be a poor single mother is not alone in her plight. Since theintroduction of Sharia law in12 of Nigerias 36 states in the last two years, 2young girls have been sentenced to 100 lashes each for sexual intercourse outof wedlock. In March of this year the sentence of death by stoning of SafiyaHussaini was overturned in a court of appeal, and at least two other women aresaid to have faced similar charges. All these women have in common that theyare poor, uneducated and single mothers from rural villages. The Nigerian humanrights group, Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) condemned Aminas verdict as
To bring international pressure to bear and achieve clemency for Amina, the Nigerian based women’s human rights group Baobab and Amnesty International have launched a campaign. To find out what you can do to help crush this cruel verdict visit Amnesty International’s website: www.mertonai.org/amina