Yesterday we tweeted about Noura Hussein, a 19-year-old Sudanese woman who was found guilty of attempted murder after suffering marital rape.
She was forced into the marriage by her own family at just 16 and the Central Criminal Court of Omdurman in Sudan, on 29 April, found her guilty of the murder of her husband.
https://twitter.com/MagkaSama/status/992084369559912448
Here is the story of Noura Hussein, posted by Alucan on her blog:
At 16, Noura was forcibly married off by her father. She refused, and in protest left her family home on the outskirts of Khartoum to stay with her aunt in Sinnar, a city almost 250 kilometers away. Noura lived with her relative for three years before her father called to say that the wedding was cancelled, and that she should come home. Upon her arrival, Noura found that she had been tricked, that the wedding to which she had never agreed was still happening, and shortly after was given away to her unchosen husband.
According to her testimony, Noura refused to consummate the marriage, resisting him for the first four days. On the fifth, she says her husband raped her, with the help of a number of his male relatives. The following day, when her husband attempted to rape her again, she stabbed and killed him. When she told her family, her father delivered her to the police, and then disowned her.
In this article published by 7DNews, we learn more about the case:
The court’s decision sparked an outcry from women’s rights activists. Many expressed solidarity with Noura Hussein, arguing that the murder was an act of self-defense. Under the Sudanese criminal code, attempted murder is punishable by execution. The young woman faced execution alone, after her family anandoned her. Her family denounced her and moved away from their village south of Khartoum, fearing revenge from the deceased husband’s family. The federal court had convicted Noura Hussein of attempted murder under Article 130 of the Sudanese Criminal Code. The decision on her sentence was delayed to allow discussions with the blood relatives on whether they want the “Deya/blood money”, a monetary amount paid to compensate relatives of the deceased.
We really hope Noura will not be sentenced to death. Until the decision is made, please spread the word about Noura. We will keep you posted about her case, on our website and on Twitter @MagkaSama.
