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Veteran Member
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 2,832
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I just received this difficult chain-mail from a friend in Nepal. Lengthy, but it offers a grassroots perspective of the realities in dealing with such cultural practices. Usually I don't buy into chainmails, but this one is different enough to warrant contemplating.
Quote:
From: "Ayesha Imam" <[email protected]>
Subject:_ Please Stop the International Amina Lawal Protest Letter
Campaigns
Date: Thu, 1 May 2003 22:34:28 -0400
Please Stop the International Amina Lawal Protest Letter Campaigns
Dear friends,
There has been a whole host of petitions and letter writing campaigns
about Amina Lawal (sentenced to stoning to death for adultery in
August 2002)._ Many of these are inaccurate and ineffective and may
even be damaging to her case and those of others in similar
situations._ BAOBAB for Women's Human Rights, which is responsible
for initiating and continuing to support the defences of cases like
Ms. Lawal's, thanks the world for its support and concern, but
requests that you please stop the Amina Lawal international protest
letter campaigns for now (May 2003)._ The information currently
circulated is inaccurate, and the situation in Nigeria, being
volatile, will not be helped by such campaigns._ At the end of this
letter, we indicate ways in which you can help us and we hope we can
count on your continuing support.
Clarification of Facts
First, we would like to pass on some facts that hopefully will
clarify the situation somewhat. Contrary to information being widely
circulated, Amina Lawal's conviction has NOT been upheld by Nigeria's
Supreme Court._ Ms. Lawal was originally convicted by an Upper Area
Court in Katsina State in northern Nigeria._ Her appeal is currently
before the Katsina State Sharia Court of Appeal._ The appeal had been
several times postponed._ However the next appeal hearing has now
been set for June 3, 2003._ Should this appeal not succeed, Ms. Lawal
would appeal to the (Nigerian Federal) Sharia Court of Appeal. Only
if unsuccessful at the federal appeal court also would Ms. Lawal's
case go to the Supreme Court of Nigeria._ In other words, the process
is a long way from immediate stoning to death._ Although the stress
on Ms. Lawal is obviously considerable and awful, she is not in
immediate danger of a judicial execution.
Furthermore, so far, not one appeal that has been taken up by BAOBAB
and supporting local NGOs in Nigeria has been lost._ All the
completed appeals processes have been successful._ Again, so far, all
these appeals have been won in local state Sharia courts -_ none have
yet needed to go up to the Federal Sharia Court of Appeal, from
whence appeals would go to the Supreme Court._ (We do note, however,
that there is still work to be done at this level, as sometimes the
judges have chosen to quash on technicalities, thus avoiding the
substantive grounds of the appeals._ However, we note also that
historically, the State Sharia Courts of Appeal, and especially the
Federal Sharia Court of Appeal, have passed judgements that are more
gender-fair - in marked contrast to the lower courts where all of
these convictions were passed).
Contrary to the statements in many of the internationally originated
appeals for petitions and protest letters, none of the victims
received a pardon as a result of international pressure.__ None of
them has received a pardon at all - or needed to, so far.
None of the sentences of stoning to death have been carried out.
Either the appeals were successful or those convicted are still in
the appeals process.
Dangers of Letter Writing Campaigns?
However, if there is an immediate physical danger to Ms. Lawal and
others, it is from vigilante and political further (over)reaction to
international attempts at pressure._ This has happened already in the
case of Bariya Magazu, the unmarried teenager convicted of zina
(extra-marital sex) and sentenced to flogging in Zamfara in 1999.
Ms. Magazu's sentence was quite illegally brought forward with no
notice, despite the earlier assurances of the trial judge that the
sentence would not be carried out for at least a year.__ She was told
the night before that it would be carried out very early the next
morning (and thus had no way of contacting anyone for help even if
this unschooled and poor rural teenager had access to a telephone or
organizing knowledge and experience), whilst the state bureaucracy
had been instructed to obstruct and was physically refusing to take
the appeal papers from BAOBAB's lawyers. The extra-legal carrying out
of the sentence was not despite national and international pressure;
it was deliberately to defy it._ The Governor of Zamfara State
boasted of his resistance to "these letters from infidels" - even to
sniggering over how many letters he had received._ Thus, we would
like you to recognise that an international protest letter campaign
is not necessarily the most productive way to act in every
situation._ On the contrary, women's rights defenders should assess
potential backlash effects before devising strategies.
Problems with Petitions based on Inaccurate Information
Even when protests are appropriate forms of action, when they are
obviously based on inaccuracies of fact they are easier to ignore.
Circulating protests and writing letters based on inaccurate
information may further damage the situation instead of helping.
They certainly damage the credibility of the local activists, who are
assumed to have supplied this information._ If we remember that it is
local activists who most facilitate turning rights principles into
everyday reality for people, then reducing the ability and potential
of local activists to carry out women's and human rights promotion
and defence is a counter-productive mode of proceeding. Please check
the accuracy of the information with local activists, before further
circulating petitions or responding to them.
Re-Presenting negative stereotypes of Islam and Muslims
Dominant colonialist discourses and the mainstream international
media have presented Islam (and Africa) as the barbaric and savage
Other. Please do not buy into this. Accepting stereotypes that
present Islam as incompatible with human rights not only perpetuates
racism but also confirms the claims of right-wing politico-religious
extremists in all of our contexts. We appreciate that many who join
letter writing campaigns are motivated by the same sense of
international solidarity and feminist outrage that leads us at BAOBAB
to participate in international actions. But when protest letters
re-present negative stereotypes of Islam and Muslims, they inflame
sentiments rather than encouraging reflection and strengthening local
progressive movements._ They may result in behaviour such as that of
the Zamfara State governor over Bariya Magazu, or even more
threatening, hostile and violent behaviour by vigilantes (in
extra-legal acts by non-state actors like the hordes of young
unemployed men who are the bulk of the vigilantes). Consequently,
such letters can put in further danger both the victims who are
easily reachable in their home communities, and, the activists and
lawyers supporting them (who are particularly vulnerable when they
have to walk through hostile crowds on their way to court, for
instance).
Muslim discourses and the invocation of Islam have been used both to
vindicate and protect women s rights in some places and times, and to
violate and restrict them in other places and times - as in the
present case._ The same can be said of many, many other religions and
discourses (for example, Christianity, capitalism, socialism,
modernization to name but a few)._ The point is for us to question
who is invoking Islam (or whatever belief/discourse) for what
purposes, and also to acknowledge and support internal dissent within
the community involved, rather than engaging in a wholesale
condemnation of peoples' beliefs and cultures, which is seldom
accurate or effective in changing views within the affected
community._ Please be sensitive to these concerns in any protest
letters you may write .
Supporting Local Pressures
There is a place for international pressure and campaigns._ We would
not risk anyone's life by insisting on never having an international
campaign._ However, using international protest appeals as the
automatic response reduces its usefulness as an advocacy tool. We
feel that this is not the time for an international letter writing
campaign, but we are concerned that should the situation change, and
we then need international pressure and ask for international
support, the moral energy and indignation of the world may already
have been spent -_ resulting in campaign fatigue_ (been there, done
that already).
International letter writing campaigns have specific potential that
can be spectacularly successful (as in the case of Fatima Yacoub in
Tchad in the mid-1990s)._ However, they are not appropriate in this
campaign at this time._ This is not one individual case._ Not all the
cases of conviction have made the international headlines or even the
national media._ They cannot all become international causes c�l�bres
and subjects for letter-writing protests._ (Very few people know the
name of Hafsatu Abubakar, the first woman to be acquitted after
appealing a stoning to death sentence, nor any of the other 8 women
and 10 youths whose current cases BAOBAB is also dealing with, for
instance) .
Using local structures and mechanisms (as a means of resisting
retrogressive laws or interpretations of laws and the forces behind
them) is the priority._ It strengthens local counter-discourses and
often carries greater legitimacy than 'outside' pressure._ Further,
it can really address the local political power struggles that are
behind the political use of religions and ethnicities in Nigeria.
The political Islamists and vigilantes threaten (and carry out) acts
of violence against those who criticise them, in order to intimidate
people. But they have also been promoting the view that any criticism
or appeal of conviction is anti-Islam and tantamount to apostasy, and
thereby trying to get people to submit quietly and voluntarily._ One
of the means of countering this was our choice to pursue the appeals
in the Sharia system, and thereby demonstrate that people have a
right to appeal and to challenge injustices, including those made in
the name of Islam.
Every appeal in the local sharia courts strengthens this process.
Since the first cases, that of Bariya Magazu, (where BAOBAB had to
convince her family and various opinion-leaders in the village to
agree to an appeal) and the Jangedi case (where a man convicted of
theft refused to appeal and had his hand amputated), many victims
have no longer acquiesced to injustices, but actively sought help.
Furthermore, in both Safiya Husseini Tungar-Tudu's and Amina Lawal's
cases, members of their community have spoken about the abuse of
Sharia and taken actions to protect them from local vigilantes.
These are actions that would not have happened when BAOBAB first
started this work in 1999._ At that time, even finding a lawyer from
the Muslim community willing to represent the victim was not easy.
Winning appeals in the Sharia courts, as we and others have done,
establishes that convictions should not have been made._ A pardon
means that people are guilty but the state is forgiving them for it.
It does not have the same moral and political resonance._ A pardon
that is perceived as occurring as a result of outside pressure is
even less likely to convince the community of its rightness._ If we
don't want such abuses to go on and on, then we have to convince the
community not to accept injustices even when perpetrated in the name
of strongly held beliefs.
Deciding on Strategies to Fight Injustices
We are asking for international solidarity strategies that respect
the analyses and agency of those activists most closely involved and
in touch with the issues on the ground and the wishes of the women
and men directly suffering rights violations._ The local groups in
Nigeria directly representing victims (in the lead of whom are BAOBAB
for Women's Human Rights and WRAPA - Women's Rights Advancement and
Protection Agency) have specifically asked that there NOT be
international letter writing campaigns._ When victims of human rights
abuses are held incommunicado, then clearly all anyone can do is act
on our own beliefs to try and help them._ This is not such a
situation._ The victims are not in detention (and indeed give press
interviews).__ They have chosen to appeal and accepted the assistance
of NGOs like BAOBAB, WRAPA and the networks of Nigerian women's and
human rights NGOs that support them._ There is an unbecoming
arrogance in assuming that international human rights organisations
or others always know better than those directly involved, and
therefore can take actions that fly in the face of their express
wishes._ Of course, there is always the possibility that those
directly involved are wrong but surely the course of action is to
persuade them of the correctness of one's analysis and strategies,
rather than ignore their wishes._ They at least have to live directly
with the consequences of any wrong decisions that they take. Please
do liaise with those whose rights have been violated and/or local
groups directly involved to discuss strategies of solidarity and
support before launching campaigns.
So how can people and other organisations help?
In the immediate, resources (money but not only money) are needed to
support both the victims directly and the appeal processes._ The
victims - almost all of them poor, and most also rural dwellers -
have found that their lives and work and those of their families are
disrupted._ They are economically hard hit, as well as under
considerable social pressure._ Often their health (physical and
psychological) suffers as a result of stress._ Sometimes a safe house
is needed in the face of threats from vigilantes - there are no
institutional ones in northern Nigeria._ It may be necessary to
consider safe asylum (bearing in mind issues like travel documents,
visas, costs and how government bureaucracies will react)._ Resources
are needed for living expenses for victims, their dependents and
families, and to deal with stress-related consequences (counselling
support, medical treatments and drugs amongst them), and to deal with
safety and security.___ Experience and strategy-sharing with other
groups who have dealt with similar situations supporting victims
through an appeals process and campaign would also be most welcome.
Then there are the costs of fighting the appeals._ Obviously there
are legal costs._ These include court fees and lawyers' fees. (Not
all lawyers are willing or financially able to work completely pro
bono. Even when they donate their expertise, they may have to be paid
for court appearances, travel and subsistence expenses)._ They also
include costs in document preparation especially in multiple copies
and so on._ There are also a whole series of associated costs.
Fighting appeals is person and time-intensive. Activists have to;
check media and local networks to find victims; travel to offer
support to victims; draw on networks to find lawyers willing to
represent victims;_ convene and participate in strategy sessions (yet
more travel as these are often national); prepare the arguments and
documentation; travel to the court with the victims; engage in victim
support (discuss their situations and the possible options and
ramifications, deal with consequential issues like loss of land, or
ill-health, provide emotional support); liaise with and service the
local and international networks supporting such work; not to mention
write the reports and analyses constantly required.__ Resources to
support all this work is needed.
Women's rights activists working on these issues very early on
received support from progressive lawyers, Islamic scholars and
rights activists from throughout Nigeria, the Muslim world and
elsewhere, in the form of legal and religious argumentation (fiqh),
case law examples and strategies which were generously shared._ We
would like to acknowledge this help and support - it has been
extremely useful and we can probably never have enough of it.
For the long-term, there are two needs to work on: constructing the
cultures of recognizing rights and fighting violations at the local
and national levels; and, to develop argumentation and advocacy to
change the laws, evidence requirements and procedures.
In sum, funding for credible organizations doing both immediate and
long-term work is urgently needed.
Exchanges of information, experiences and knowledge in similar
situations would also be helpful.
Practical offer of safe havens - outside the community but within
Nigeria, and, outside of Nigeria may also be needed.
Finally, do please circulate this message widely - including to all
the list-servs_ and networks where petitions based on inaccurate
information have been circulated._ If you would share and discuss
this message with other activists and organisations who have
demonstrated their solidarity on these cases, that would be helpful.
Respectfully
Ayesha Imam (Board Member)
Sindi Medar-Gould (Executive Director)
BAOBAB for Women's Human Rights
BAOBAB for Women's Human Rights has been closely involved with
defending the rights of women, men and children in Muslim, customary
and secular laws - and in particular of those convicted under the new
Sharia Criminal legislation acts passed in Nigeria since 2000._ In
fact, BAOBAB was the first (and for several months the only) NGO with
members from the Muslim community, who were willing to speak publicly
against retrogressive versions of Muslim laws and to work on changing
the dominant conservative understanding of the rights of women in
enacted Sharia (Muslim religious laws), as well as in customary and
secular laws._ BOABAB was also the first, and again for some time the
only NGO to actually find the victims and support their appeals,
raising funds for the costs and putting together a strategy team of
women's and human rights activists, lawyers and Islamic scholars
contributing their expertise and time voluntarily.__ BAOBAB for
Women's Human Rights was the 2002 recipient of the John Humphrey
Freedom Award for this work._ BAOBAB's work was also recently cited
by the Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women as an example of
best practice.
If you would like to support BAOBAB for Women's Human Rights work,
please send a check/cheque or international money order made out to:
a)____ BAOBAB / WLUML-AME Legal Defence Fund (supports the immediate
costs victims and appeals process); and/or
b)____ BAOBAB / WLUML-AME Rights Advocacy Fund (supports the
long-term work in enabling the critique of the rights in Muslim laws,
as in customary and secular laws, and to work on the reconstruction
of rights in law and practice); and/or
c)____ BAOBAB / WLUML-AME Core Funding (enables flexibility in usage
- it must still be accounted for and reported on)
These should be sent to:
BAOBAB for Women's Human Rights
P O Box 73630_________ or
Victoria Island
Lagos,
Nigeria
PMB 134,________________________ or
1333A North Avenue
New Rochelle
NY 10804, USA
P O Box 28445
London N19 5JT
UK
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06-15-2003, 02:58 AM
