A Sudanese journalist facing 40 lashes for wearing "indecent" trousers said she is willing to be whipped 40,000 times in an effort to bring attention to the country's harsh laws, the AFP reported Monday.
Lubna Ahmed al-Hussein — an employee with the media department of the United Nations Mission in Sudan — will reportedly receive her punishment Tuesday after waiving the immunity granted to UN workers.
Article 152 of Sudanese law calls for 40 lashes for anyone "who commits an indecent act which violates public morality or wears indecent clothing."
Sudanese authorities arrested Hussein and 12 other women for wearing trousers deemed inappropriate at a restaurant in Khartoum on July 3.
The two other women are also facing charges, according to the AFP.
"I'm ready for anything to happen. I'm absolutely not afraid of the verdict," Hussein told the AFP.
"If I'm sentenced to be whipped, or to anything else, I will appeal. I will see it through to the end, to the constitutional court if necessary," she said. "And if the constitutional court says the law is constitutional, I'm ready to be whipped not 40 but 40,000 times."
Hussein told the news agency that her "main objective is to get rid of Article 152." She said the article is "against both the constitution and sharia," the Islamic law that governs northern Sudan.
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