Death by stoning? You gotta be kidding

By Danielle Mbaitoloum
Staff Writer

Amina Lawal, a 31-year-old mother accused of adultery, was sentenced to death by stoning in March 2002 by an Islamic sharia court in northern Nigeria.

More than nine months after divorcing her husband, Amina had given birth to a baby girl named Wasilla. According to the Islamic law in that northen Nigerian state of Katsina, having a child outside a legal marriage constitutes sufficient evidence for a woman to be convicted of adultery.

This conviction apparently contradicts the real purpose of sharia, Muslim laws which claim to protect individuals’ basic human rights, including the right to life; property; political and religious freedom; and safeguarding the rights of women and minorities.

In Nigeria, regional states can introduce laws which may be contrary to federal Nigerian law. And under the Islamic Katsina regional law, admitting to having sex outside the marriage amounts a confession to the crime of adultery, and the death sentence can be imposed. But in this case, Amina , who had admitted her crime, will be the only one to be punished her baby’s father, Yahama Mohammed has gone free. The reason? There was not sufficient evidence to convict him. Obviously, DNA testing wasn’t available in Nigeria during the trial.

In 2002, two years after she will finish weaning her baby, Amina will be buried up to her neck and young people will throw rocks at her until death comes along. After being pronounced dead, her body will be removed from the hole and then buried.

"This situation affects us all as humans beings," said Dr. Mike Sanders,who has spent nine years in Nigeria and who teaches major world religions at North Lake College. "It should have some kind of universal standards of behavior and a way of treating people."
Sanders strongly believed that if the same trial were happening here, it wouldn’t be judged in the same way. "We have laws and amendments that protect our fundamental rights, which is obviously not the case in Nigeria," he said. Sanders added that we couldn’t judge others’ cultures based on our Western culture.

Cliff Bowden, government instructor at NLC, said, "Comparing the culture of the U.S. and Nigeria is like comparing apples to oranges.

Our cultures establish the acceptable rules and behaviors, therefore the subsequent laws of society," said Bowden.

Nigerian student Marcella Asande believes that Amina is a victim of poverty. The fact that she comes from an impoverished background does not allow her to get the best lawyers. "The president, Olusegun Obasanjo, cannot take any actions, because he fears he will be killed as well," she said.

A student from Pakistan, Farrukh Khan said that the issue of stoning can be explained as an act of purification. "Islam does not like this law," he said, "but it is mostly for the benefit of the Muslim people."

Since the news of her execution by stoning, a lot of international organizations and human rights groups have joined forces for international support.

It is hard to believe that in the twenty-first century that women are still paying a high price for wrongdoings like Aminas. As a Muslim woman, engaging herself in a sexual relationship outside the marriage was wrong in her Islamic society. Her conviction shows once again the issues of discrimination against women, and wrongdoings which women are still facing every day around the world.

What outraged me the most is the barbaric, inhumane and degrading way in which she will be killed. If the real purpose of the Islamic sharia is to protect individuals’ basic rights, which part protects Amina?
I just don’t understand.

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