‘Complete Shock’

Sudan Teen Sentenced to Death for Stabbing Rapist Husband

75,000+ sign petition to stop her execution.

A 19-year-old woman from Sudan has been sentenced to death for fatally stabbing the man she was forced to marry, who she says raped her as his family pinned her down. Noura Hussein’s case has exposed the serious problems surrounding forced marriage and marital rape in Sudan, where the legal age of marriage is only 10 and marital rape is legal. Her husband’s family refused an option to pardon her Thursday and rejected financial compensation, requesting that she be executed instead. “She’s still in complete shock after her sentencing today,” Adil Mohamed Al-Imam, one of Hussein’s lawyers, told CNN. Describing the rape, Al-Imam said: “His brother and two cousins tried to reason with her, when she refused she was slapped and ordered into the room. One held her chest and head, the others held her legs.” Over 75,000 people have signed an online petition against the ruling—Hussein’s lawyers have 15 days to appeal.