I totally agree with you on the idea of shared responsibility and equal justice. We needed a woman's point of view. I am a muslim by birth, but I do not subscribe to any religion's dogma and doctrines beyond the tenets of the ten commandments. I hope there are muslims, christians, buddhists, etc. like me. I have always believed religion to be extremely sexist. The idea that the female is the weaker gender with fewer scruples is preposterous. I can't remmember who it was recently who wandered why so many Gambians tend to display symptoms of mental lethargy. The answer could be found in the gradual replacement of common/natural sense and discipline with religious fanaticism. cheers!! >From: Ginny Quick <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list ><[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Re: Fwd: Nigerian court sentences unmarried pregnant girl to > caning >Date: Sun, 17 Sep 2000 15:08:06 -0500 > >Hello, I have a question about this story. Hopefully, someone can help me >answer it. My question is not so much whether or not the sharia law should >be enacted and used. What I want to know is, where is the father of this >girl's baby? I mean, she couldn't have gotten pregnant all by herself. >Would he suffer the same punishment as she is going to have to? > I just wanted to know because there was no mention of the father in >this case, and shouldn't he be as guilty as the girl is? >Ginny >----- Original Message ----- >From: "MOMODOU BUHARRY GASSAMA" <[log in to unmask]> >To: <[log in to unmask]> >Sent: Sunday, September 17, 2000 2:16 PM >Subject: Fwd: Nigerian court sentences unmarried pregnant girl to caning > > >Nigerian court sentences unmarried pregnant girl to caning >September 15, 2000 >Web posted at: 11:30 PM EDT (0330 GMT) > > >GUSAU, Nigeria (Reuters) -- A pregnant teenage girl has been sentenced to >180 strokes of the cane by a Muslim sharia court in northern Nigeria, >officials said Friday. > >Human rights activists have reacted angrily to the sentencing of >17-year-old >Bariya Magazu after a trial likely to fuel controversy over the >introduction >of the strict sharia penal code in parts of northern Nigeria. > >Separately, Roman Catholic bishops of Nigeria issued a statement calling on >President Olusegun Obasanjo "to address the sharia issue with the >seriousness and sense of urgency that it deserves." > >The court in Zamfara state, the first of Nigeria's regional governments to >proclaim sharia law, tried Magazu on charges of having had pre-marital sex. > >Multi-ethnic Nigeria has been sharply divided over sharia since late last >year when Zamfara embraced it. Hundreds of people died in two bouts of >Christian-Muslim bloodletting over plans to introduce it in neighboring >Kaduna state earlier this year. > >Non-Muslims oppose sharia for its tough sanctions, such as stoning for >adultery and amputation of hands for theft. > >Zamfara officials said the court in the state capital Gusau had earlier >this >week found Magazu, who is several months pregnant and being looked after by >her parents, guilty of having sex illegally. > >"The court sentenced her to 180 strokes of the cane, and she will be >publicly flogged 40 days after she puts to bed (gives birth)," an official >told Reuters. > >Rights groups described the sentence as barbaric and a violation of the >girl's fundamental human rights. > >"It's shocking and really very embarrassing. It is baffling why the Zamfara >government would go ahead to enforce sharia to the extent of having to give >a small girl 180 strokes of the cane," said Samson Bako of the >Constitutional Rights Project. > >Bako said a coalition of rights groups would consider court action against >the central government if it failed to stop the spread of sharia in the >country. > >Despite opposition, sharia appears popular in the predominantly Islamic >north where some half a dozen states have adopted it or are about to do so. > >In their statement issued Friday after a five-day meeting in Kaduna, the >bishops said their original fear that non-Muslims would suffer under a >sharia regime had been justified. > >"The reality on the ground in states that have adopted sharia shows that >non-Muslims are being negatively and unjustly affected," the statement >said. > >In many cases Christian bodies were denied land on which to build places of >worship, it said. > >While reaffirming their faith in a unified Nigeria, the bishops said they >believed Nigeria's constitution needed to be reviewed to reassure people of >all faiths. > >"There should no longer be room for special provisions for any religion >within our constitution," their statement added. > >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L >Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html >You may also send subscription requests to >[log in to unmask] >if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your >full name and e-mail address. >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L >Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html >You may also send subscription requests to >[log in to unmask] >if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your >full name and e-mail address. >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. 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