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Teenage girl flogged
for pre-marital sexual encounter under Islamic Sharia law in Nigeria;
more human rights questions follow
Special to USAfricaonline.com
and NigeriaCentral.com
What
began as a distant issue over pre-marital sex and Islamic religion
has come full circle in Nigeria with the flogging of a young girl,
Bariya Ibrahim Magazu, in the Sharia-governed state of Zamfara. The
once local issue has since blossomed into an international human
rights struggle.
She was "sentenced" after three men forced her into having sex in September 2000, and inflicted 100 lashes on Monday January 22, 2001. Bariya was made pregnant in the incident and her punishment was deferred by the authorities in the northern state of Zamfara until two weeks after she had given birth.
Her case provoked national and international outrage, and human rights groups and the Canadian government protested vehemently when the sentence was passed last year. But the Deputy Governor of Zamfara, Mahmoud Shinkafi, has said that "the disgrace in public is what deters people...." - a reference and justification for flogging Bariya.
Some observers of the punishment said she was bruised but not
badly hurt by the flogging,. About 100 people gathered to watch the
sensational clash of religion and forced sexual activities. Human
rights campaigner Aisha Imam said that "it's a shock. It's a horrible
thing to happen to Bariya." Locally, other human rights groups in
Nigeria have been quick to condemn the lashings. But some Muslims
insist that such flogging help to stamp out moral laxity.
The case has also remained an embarrassment to the Nigerian
government of Olusegun Obasanjo, former retired army general. His
government chose not to confront states in the north of the country
which have extended Sharia during the past year, excusing itself by
arguing that any breaches of anyone's human rights are matters for
the courts to handle.
Unfortunately, that line of reasoning widened the door to more
religioun-bound brigandage and killings of south easterners
(especially Igbos
in the northern region of Nigeria). The religious conflicts have
equally remained a dangerous point which may implode the march
towards a truly democratic government in Nigeria.
USAfricaonline.com (with additional reports from the BBC and wire
services). Zamfara State
formalizes Islamic Law
The first
critical test of the mix of the full run of traditional
Islamic law with secular laws and values since Nigeria's
return to civilian rule in May 1999, has started with the
enactment of Islamic Sharia law Nigeria's northern state of
Zamfara.40
killed in latest
Nigeria ethnic clashes between Yorubas and
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