NAIROBI, Kenya – Sudan will allow non-Muslims to consume alcohol, scrap its apostasy law, and abolish the use of public flogging as punishment as its transitional government eases decades of strict Islamist policies.
The measures, announced on Saturday afternoon by Justice Minister Nasredeen Abdulbari, are part of a series of changes introduced under the transitional government as it seeks to break with the government of Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who was deposed the year. happened after more than three decades. In power. The government has already moved to ban female genital cutting, a measure that is taking effect now.
The latest announcement came a week after tens of thousands of people took to the streets despite a coronavirus blockade demanding faster reform and greater civilian government as the nation takes small steps toward democracy.
“As a government, our job is to protect all Sudanese citizens in accordance with the Constitution and the laws that must be consistent with the Constitution,” Abdulbari told state television.
The laws being dropped are bequests to both Mr. al-Bashir and Gaafar al-Nimeiry, an army colonel who led Sudan between 1969 and 1985. In 1983, he imposed Islamic law across the nation, precipitating conflict between the Muslim majority from the north and south mainly christian and animist who led to the secession of South Sudan in 2011.
After taking power in 1989, Mr. al-Bashir expanded the Islamic government and introduced public order laws that criminalized a wide range of activities and behaviors, including alcohol consumption and the use of revealing clothing for women. Those who violated the rules faced prison terms, fines, and public flogging. Human rights organizations said the laws were “oppressive” and gave authorities wide powers to make arbitrary arrests, particularly of women.
The apostasy rules in particular attracted worldwide condemnation after a heavily pregnant woman was sentenced to death in 2014 for renouncing Islam. The woman, Meriam Ibrahim, gave birth while in prison and was later released after organizations like Amnesty International campaigned for her release.
Abdulbari said the government had decided to get rid of the apostasy law because it was “a threat to the security of society.”
The repeal “is seen as an extension of personal liberties and is a sharp departure from the previous prohibitive regime,” said David Kiwuwa, director of the Center for Advanced International Studies on the campus of the University of Nottingham in Ningbo, China, who described it. as “a strong sign” that Sudan was changing under its civilian authorities.
After Mr. al-Bashir was overthrown in April 2019 after months of protests, his government was replaced by an 11-member sovereign council made up of six civilians and five military leaders, charged with preparing the country for elections after of a three-year transition period. .
The council appointed Abdalla Hamdok, an economist who held various positions at the United Nations, as prime minister, and his government immediately embarked on an ambitious program that sought to placate pro-democracy protesters and join the international community.
As they moved to dissolve Mr. al-Bashir’s former ruling party last November, authorities also repealed a moral vigilance law that dictated women’s clothing, and in April approved the ban on genital cutting.
Mr. Hamdok’s government also embarked on political and economic reform, revived talks with rebel groups and began investigations into the bloody crackdown in the Darfur region under Mr. al-Bashir, promising to prosecute and possibly hand over to the International Criminal Court to those wanted for war crimes.
The administration has also lobbied the United States to remove Sudan from the State Department’s list of terrorism sponsors, a designation that has restricted foreign investment and aid.
However, despite goodwill and intoxicating optimism, Sudan’s political transition remains a delicate one, hit by economic headwinds and the restrictions required by the coronavirus pandemic. Mr. Hamdok survived an assassination attempt in March, and concerns about a coup have increased in recent months.
In early July, one person was killed and several others were injured in protests in major cities, including the capital Khartoum, demanding the speedy delivery of “freedom, peace and justice.” On Sunday, security forces forcibly dispersed a sit-in in Darfur, which some took as an indication that the army maintains the balance of royal power.
Observers said Monday that the removal of the laws should be read within the broader context of Sudan opening a new page and promoting a more inclusive and representative society. But more would need to be done if the government changed long-standing cultural practices, said Ahmed Soliman, a researcher with the Africa Program at the British foreign policy research institute Chatham House.
“The transitional government has demonstrated its intention to maintain equality of citizenship at the forefront of the political transition, including by addressing gender issues and religious freedoms,” said Soliman, adding: “There is also division over these reforms, with strong backlash from conservative religious and political figures who see the changes as an attack on Islam and morality. “
