Today our friends at The Women's Media Center sent out a press release about the petition circulating in support of Lubna al-Hussein...

Lubna al-Hussein is a Sudanese journalist and U.N. press officer. She was arrested on July 3, 2009 at a party in Khartoum with 12 other women. Their crime was wearing pants, which carries a penalty of 40 lashes under the 1991 indecency law, part of the sharia law which governs Northern Sudan. Ten of the women have already been fined and flogged, but al-Hussein will not plead guilty and has resigned her U.N. post in order to avoid immunity.

Al-Hussein is fighting the indecency law because she believes it to be unconsitutional and not in keeping with Islam. As she told the Associated Press: "Flogging is an insult to human dignity. If the (rulers) claim this is based on Islamic Shariah (law), can anyone show me a verse in the Quran or in the prophet's teachings that speak of flogging women because of their dress code?"

"I am not afraid of flogging. ... It's about changing the law." Hussein said, adding that she is ready "to receive (even) 40,000 lashes" if that what it takes to abolish the law.

The Washington Post reported today that Sudan is restricting al-Hussein's ability to travel.

We urge you to sign the Arab Women's Connection petition in support of Lubna al-Hussein.