IN THE NEWS - Sharia Law in Nigeria

IN THE NEWS - September 14, 2002: Sharia Law in Nigeria

This is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program In The News.

There is a dispute about a major women’s beauty competition to be held in Nigeria. The Miss
World competition is to take place November thirtieth in Abuja, the capital. Women
representing countries around the world compete in the beauty contest. They wear bathing suits
for part of the competition.

Conservative Muslim Nigerians have severely¹ criticized the competition as immoral². They say the contest will
incite³ immoral sexual activity and lead to the spread of diseases like AIDS. They are especially angered that the
Miss World contest is to take place during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The contest will be held in Nigeria this year because a Nigerian woman won the contest last year. Agbani Darego
became the first black African woman to be named Miss World. The event is broadcast to more than one-
hundred-forty countries.

Some militant⁴ Muslim groups in Nigeria have threatened to interfere⁵ with the event. They say Miss World and
similar competitions are offensive to the Muslim religion. They also say such competitions violate Islamic law
called Sharia.

A number of competitors in the Miss World contest have threatened to boycott⁶ the competition for another
reason. These women say they are angered by the severe form of Islamic law that has been established in parts of
Nigeria.

They are protesting a Sharia court’s recent decision that sentenced a woman to death in the
northern Nigerian state of Katsina. Amina Lawal was found guilty of having sex when she was
not married. The court ordered that she be stoned to death. The execution is to be carried out
after she finishes breastfeeding her nine-month-old baby. The court says this must happen by
early two-thousand-four.

Earlier this week, the European Parliament’s committee on women’s rights approved a

Amina Lawal

motion calling for a boycott of the Miss World contest to protest the death sentence.
(April 2002 VOA
photo - J. Kamara)

A large majority of the population in northern Nigeria is Muslim. The twelve states in the area have used Sharia
in cases of civil law. However, those states began pushing for complete rule by Sharia in nineteen-ninety-nine
after a civilian⁷ government was established in Nigeria. The non-religious federal government of Nigeria has said
it opposes the use of Shariah in criminal cases in northern Nigeria. However, it says it has no power to act against
the states that use it.

Sentences of death by stoning are not believed to be common. However, several other countries also use very
restrictive Islamic law.

Several human rights organizations and women’s rights groups have expressed concern about the Sharia law in
effect in northern Nigeria. Amnesty International has protested stonings and other severe punishments. The
human rights group also says the law treats people unfairly based on their sex.

This VOA Special English program In The News was written by Caty Weaver⁸. This is Steve Ember.

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1 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

2 immoral   

adj.不道德的，淫荡的，荒淫的，有伤风化的

参考例句：

• She was questioned about his immoral conduct toward her.她被询问过有关他对她的不道德行为的情况。
• It is my belief that nuclear weapons are immoral.我相信使核武器是不邪恶的。

3 incite   

v.引起，激动，煽动

参考例句：

• I wanted to point out he was a very good speaker, and could incite a crowd.我想说明他曾是一个非常出色的演讲家，非常会调动群众的情绪。
• Just a few words will incite him into action.他只需几句话一将，就会干。

4 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

5 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

6 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

7 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

8 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。