On October 4, 2002, Oprah Winfrey did a program entitled Can We Save Amina Lawal's Life? about a young Nigerian woman who has been sentenced to death by stoning. That program inspired me to create this web page to make others aware of Amina Lawal's plight, and the plight of other women like her around the world.

Amina Lawal

Amina Lawal is a 31-year-old Nigerian woman who has been sentenced to death by stoning under the Shari'ah law of her state for engaging in sex outside of marriage. Ms. Lawal was subject to an arranged marriage when she was 14. Her husband divorced her and left her to raise their children by herself. When she was found to be pregnant last year while still unmarried, her neighbors turned her in and she was put under arrest for "adultery." Ms. Lawal claims that the baby's father had promised to marry her. By Shari'ah law, the man must either confess to the adultery or four (male) eyewitnesses to the act must be produced. Since the man denied the charges and there were no witnesses (as is usually the case), the man was released. For Ms. Lawal, the fact that she was pregnant was enough to convict her.

Human rights groups have taken up for Ms. Lawal and appealed the decision. The state court in Katsina in northern Nigeria confirmed the sentence. The case will go all the way to the Supreme Court of Nigeria. Although the president of Nigeria is Christian and has personally condemned the government-sanctioned stoning, he may not interfere in the appeal process for fear of losing the support of the mostly Muslim northern part of the country. If the sentence is carried out, Ms. Lawal will be buried neck-deep and be stoned to death as soon as her baby girl, Wasila, is weaned.

BBC News article about Amina Lawal

What is the Shari'ah?

The Shari'ah, or "sacred law," was codified around the 9th century A.D. It is an elaborate set of commandments based on the Qur'an and the written histories of Mohammad that pertain to many aspects of Muslim life from the punishment of criminals to bathroom habits. The Shari'ah law had been enforced in the predominantly Muslim areas of Nigeria in the 1800s before the British took control of the country. When Nigeria regained its independence in 1960 the law returned to the Shari'ah in a limited capacity, with the harsher aspects, including stoning, were dismissed. In 2000 some northern states in Nigeria made the Shari'ah the official law of the land, including limb amputation and stoning as punishment for acts forbidden in the Shari'ah. They claim this is a matter of religious freedom.

Help save Amina Lawal's life.

Ms. Lawal's only hope is for the president of Nigeria to use his influence to stop the sentence from being carried out. Already over one million letters have been collected to send to the president. We hope all the negative attention will convince the president to do the right thing even though he may lose favor with his Muslim constituents.

Read and sign the letter to Ambassador Jibril Muhammad Aminu provided by Amnesty International USA and the Oprah Winfrey Show.

Find out more about the inhumane treatment of women around the world.

Back