Navi Pillay Dedicates Nobel Peace Prize to Survivors of International Crimes

Related Article:

President van Strafhof roept op ‘niet onverschillig te blijven’ over sancties VS: ‘Elke maatregel tegen het hof wordt uiteindelijk gevoeld door slachtoffers van wreedheden’

ICC-president Tomoko Akane had vrijdag een ontmoeting met 
koning Willem-Alexander. Foto Frank van Beek/Pool via REUTERS

LET ME FEEL, Amapiano Afro Vibes 2026 (Deep Groove)

#MeToo wave in Morocco over 'sex for grades' scandal

France24 – AFP, 23 January 2022 

Nadia, a university student and a victim of sexual blackmail, attends a conference
on the subject of sexual aggression, in the western Moroccan city of Casablanca,
on January 20, 2022 FADEL SENNA AFP

Rabat (AFP) – Female Moroccan university students have broken their silence about professors demanding sexual favours in return for good grades, a scandal that has shaken the higher eduction system. 

Testimonies have flooded social media in the style of the #MeToo movement, encouraged by activists in the conservative North African nation where victims of sexual violence often keep quiet. 

"I was expelled from university a year ago under the pretext that I had cheated on an exam," said 24-year-old student Nadia, who declined to give her full name. 

"The truth is that I had just refused to submit to sexual blackmail from one of my professors." 

The Hassan I University in Settat, near Casablanca, where she was eventually re-admitted, is now embroiled in a scandal involving five professors. 

One was sentenced to a two-year prison term this month for demanding sexual favours for good grades, in the first such verdict, while four others are due to face court Monday. 

"My case was not an isolated one," said Nadia. "Other girls suffered similar things but no one wanted to listen to us." 

In recent years, several similar cases were reported by local media, but failed to elicit official action. 

But then a social media campaign shifted the conversation, raising awareness of the magnitude of the problem. 

'Wave of testimonies'

The turning point came when screen shots were published online, said to be of messages in which professors demanded sexual favours from female students. 

Members of a women's rights association, give a press conference about the
subject of sexual aggression against women in universities FADEL SENNA AFP

"I had not considered making a complaint, but after the scandal broke, I filed a civil suit," Nadia said. 

"My move is also a way of encouraging other victims to denounce these acts." 

One association that helped bring some of the scandals to light was "7achak" -- an expression in local dialect used to excuse oneself before broaching a taboo topic. 

The movement launched an Instagram page calling on women victims of harassment to share their stories. 

"As soon as the appeal was launched, we received a wave of testimonies," the association's founder Sarah Benmoussa told AFP. "Those accompanied with evidence were published." 

More accusations against university lecturers began to emerge online. 

"I am speaking to you to stop the sexual harassment and the rotten and unacceptable acts of a monster disguised as an instructor," wrote a former student of the National School of Business and Management in Oujda. 

Other victims also shared their experiences involving that professor, resulting in his suspension. 

Some officials at the business school, deemed "complicit", were also dismissed, the higher education ministry said last month. 

'Zero tolerance'

In Tangiers, an instructor at a school of translation was convicted and sentenced to jail in early January over sexual harassment, lawyer Aicha Guellaa told AFP. 

According to her, "nearly 70 complaints" were also filed at the Abdelmalek Essaadi University of Tetouan, but have so far failed to provoke a response from the university administration. 

The reports of sexual harassment in academia sparked an uproar among activists, online and in the local media across Morocco. 

They prompted Higher Education Minister Abdelatif Miraoui to pledge "zero tolerance" for sexual harassment. 

As the number of testimonies grew, several universities launched toll-free hotlines and set up teams to follow up on cases of sexual violence. 

"It's crucial to support the victims and to help them gain access to the judicial system," said human rights defender Karima Nadir of the "Outlaws" group. 

In 2018, after years of fierce debate, a law entered into force, imposing for the first time prison sentences for "harassment, assault, sexual exploitation or abuse". 

"Laws exist," Nadir said, "but few benefit from them."

Tanzania lifts ban on teen mothers attending schools

Yahoo – AFP, November 24, 2021 

Former President John Magufuli had vowed that no student who became
pregnant would finish their studies under his watch (AFP/TONY KARUMBA) 

Tanzania said on Wednesday it would allow pregnant students and teenaged mothers to continue with their studies, reversing a heavily-criticised policy instituted by its late autocratic leader John Magufuli. 

In 2017, the East African country began expelling pregnant girls from state schools and banned them from returning to class after giving birth, in a crackdown slammed by rights campaigners. 

Following Magufuli's death earlier this year, his successor Samia Suluhu Hassan has sought to break away from some of his policies and on Wednesday, Education Minister Joyce Ndalichako said that "pregnant school girls will be allowed to continue with formal education after delivery." 

"I will issue a circular later today. No time to wait," she said at a ceremony in the capital Dodoma. 

Magufuli had vowed that no student who became pregnant would finish their studies under his watch, saying it was immoral for young girls to be sexually active. 

"I give money for a student to study for free. And then, she gets pregnant, gives birth and after that, returns to school. No, not under my mandate," he said in mid-2017. 

The decision was widely criticised by human rights lobby groups and international donors, who cut their funding to the country in response to Magufuli's policies. 

At the time, Human Rights Watch published a report saying school officials in Tanzania were conducting pregnancy tests in order to expel pregnant students, depriving them of their right to an education. 

'Welcome step' 

The World Bank, which froze a $300-million loan for girls' education in protest against the ban, hailed Wednesday's decision. 

"The World Bank welcomes the government of Tanzania's announcement to remove barriers to access to education," it said in a statement. 

The Swedish embassy in Dar es Salaam, which cut its funding to Tanzania last year citing shrinking freedoms, also applauded the move. 

"This is a welcome step for many girls, allowing them to unlock their full potential," the embassy said on Twitter. 

Opposition party Alliance for Change and Transparency (ACT Wazalendo) said their push to reverse the policy had paid off. 

"We did it! A clear example of one struggle, many fronts. Everyone who was involved did something towards this achievement," said ACT Wazalendo leader Zitto Kabwe. 

Covid-sceptic Magufuli, nicknamed the "Bulldozer" for his uncompromising leadership style, died of a heart condition on March 17 after a mysterious three-week absence. His political opponents insisted he had coronavirus. 

In the weeks after her swearing-in, his successor Hassan reached out to Tanzania's political opposition, vowing to defend democracy and basic freedoms, and reopening banned media outlets. 

But hopes that Hassan would usher in a new era were dented by the arrest of a high-profile opposition leader on terrorism charges and a crackdown on independent newspapers.

Egypt grapples with women's freedoms online as #MeToo re-emerges

Yahoo – AFP, Farid Farid, Aug 2, 2020

Haneen Hossam (left) and Mowada al-Adham (right) were among those sentenced
to jail in Egypt this week over content posted to TikTok (AFP Photo/Khaled DESOUKI)

Cairo (AFP) - Social media has become a new and dangerous battleground for women's rights in Egypt after young TikTok influencers were jailed while a resurgent #MeToo movement decried male sexual violence.

Last Monday, a court sentenced five female social media influencers, Haneen Hossam, Mowada al-Adham and three others, to two years in jail each on charges of violating public morals over content posted to video-sharing app TikTok.

International digital rights group Access Now described them as "all women, all young, all exercising their right to freedom of expression online".

Just two days later, a court sentenced another young social media influencer, Manar Samy, to three years in prison over TikTok videos, deeming the clips in which she dances and lip-syncs to popular songs to be "inciting debauchery".

Many in the deeply conservative country have cheered on the arrests, as traditional social values clash with online content seen as racy and sexually suggestive.

"The Egyptian government is on a campaign to arrest and prosecute women influencers on... TikTok for violating 'the values of the Egyptian family' and 'inciting debauchery and immorality,'" Access Now said in a statement.

The Egyptian authorities "not only want to control what citizens say, but also how they should dress, talk, and behave online," said Marwa Fatafta, the group's Middle East and North Africa policy manager.

Young women posting testimonials about sexual misconduct led to the arrest of 

Ahmed Bassam Zaki, 22, a former student of some of Egypt's most elite schools 

and universities (AFP Photo/Khaled DESOUKI)

'Stronghold on the internet'

Egypt has in recent years enforced strict internet controls as it walks a tight line between balancing the Islamic law that shapes its governance and adapting to a rapidly shifting society with a penchant for social media content.

Stringent laws were approved in 2018 allowing authorities to block websites seen as a threat to national security and to monitor personal social media accounts with over 5,000 followers.

"In the past, the Egyptian regime tightened its stronghold on the internet... Now, the online repression extends to non-political activity too," said Fatafta.

The six jailed women combined have millions of followers.

Hossam was arrested after posting a clip saying that girls could make money by working with her, a message that was interpreted as a call for prostitution, while Adham had posted satirical videos on TikTok and Instagram.

Aside from being a virtual battleground of competing interpretations of morality, social media has also empowered young Egyptian women to speak up about sexual assault, sometimes with negative consequences.

In May, a shocking video came to light of a young woman sobbing, her face battered and bruised.

Menna Abdel-Aziz, 17, posted an Instagram video in which she said she had been gang raped by a group of young men.

The authorities' response was swift: the six alleged attackers were arrested -- but so was Abdel-Aziz. All were charged with "promoting debauchery".

In this photo taken on February 12, 2013, protesters in Cairo demonstrate 

against sexual harassment (AFP Photo/Khaled DESOUKI)

"She committed crimes, she admitted to some of them," the prosecutor-general said in a statement. "She deserves to be punished."

'More to come'

Since Abdel-Aziz's case surfaced, a revived #MeToo movement among Egyptian women, mostly from affluent backgrounds, has sprung into action.

A gang rape allegation made in late July stemming from a prominent social media account has been one trigger.

Another was young women posting testimonials about sexual misconduct that led to the arrest earlier in the month of Ahmed Bassam Zaki, 22, a former student of some of Egypt's most elite schools and universities.

But the movement faces an uphill battle.

Rights groups say the government of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has been curtailing freedoms since he took office in 2014.

Comedians, academics, bloggers, journalists, political dissidents, lawyers and activists are among those who have been jailed in recent years, and a music video director has died in custody.

Imprisoning social media influencers, the latest group to be targeted, "has nothing to do with protecting social values. It's about internet policing and control," Access Now's Fatafta said.

"With the massive increase in content creators and influencers on TikTok in Egypt, there is a high risk that more prosecutions targeting this community are yet to come," the organisation added.

Related Article:

Egypt Hotel Gang Rape Allegations Ignite New #MeToo Wave

Egypt Hotel Gang Rape Allegations Ignite New #MeToo Wave

Barrons – AFP, July 30, 2020

Protesters in 2013 hold up placards and shout slogans during a demonstration
against sexual harassment in Egypt's capital Cairo. Khaled DESOUKI

A gang rape allegation at a luxury hotel in Egypt stemming from a prominent social media account has triggered a new #MeToo wave in the deeply conservative country.

The alleged assault took place at the five-star Fairmont Nile City hotel in Cairo in 2014 where a group of six men drugged and raped a young woman, according to several social media accounts

Names and pictures of the figures accused, who hail from elite families, have circulated online, but AFP has been unable to verify their authenticity.

AFP spoke to a source close to the victim who corroborated details of the 2014 rapes posted online.

The victim was unwilling to comment publicly for fear of a backlash.

No official investigation has been launched so far, as tweets flood in under the hashtag #FairmontIncident.

Young Egyptian women posting testimonials of sexual misconduct earlier this month triggered a national outcry which led to the arrest of Ahmed Bassam Zaki, 22, a former student of some of Egypt's most elite schools and universities.

On July 4, authorities detained Zaki who confessed to assaulting at least six girls including one aged under 18 and blackmailing the victims, according to prosecutors.

Egypt's National Council for Women on Wednesday condemned retaliatory threats made against women exposing sexual misconduct.

The council "stands by every woman and girl exposed to any... threat by providing all necessary support", it said.

It also called on females "who might be subjected to harassment and/or threats to immediately report through the official reporting mechanisms".

Egypt's minister of international cooperation, Rania al-Mashat, for her part, posted a supportive message on Instagram: "To all the girls out there, we hear you".

The Fairmont Hotel has said it carried out an investigation of the graphic claims posted online.

"An internal investigation was undertaken by the hotel upon receipt of knowledge of the disturbing allegations," Yara ElDouky, Fairmont's communication director, told AFP.

"We can confirm that at no time were any reports of the incident filed to the hotel, nor to the hotel’s tourism police," she said.

"All personnel at the hotel are committed to assisting the relevant authorities and we will continue to offer our unfettered support," she added.

The allegations come as Egypt sentenced to jail several young female influencers on popular app TikTok on charges of violating public morals.

A 2013 study by UN Women found that 99% of women in Egypt had at some point in their lives been sexually harassed, either verbally or physically.

In Egypt, sexual predator case reignites #MeToo debate

Yahoo – AFP, Menna Zaki and Hager Harabech, July 16, 2020

A woman in Egypt checks an Instagram account for reporting allegations of
sexual harassment and misconduct (AFP Photo/Khaled DESOUKI)

Cairo (AFP) - Egypt has seen a strong resurgence of the #MeToo movement after dozens of women made shocking claims of sexual abuse and assault by a member of the country's wealthy elite.

Amid a campaign unprecedented in its intensity in the deeply conservative country, state and religious authorities have started to take a firmer stand.

The latest outpouring of anger, on the Instagram account "Assault Police", centres on allegations against Ahmed Bassam Zaki, a 22-year-old former student of some of Egypt's most elite schools and universities.

They have ranged from claims that he took part in a rape at the gym hall of a gated residential community to screen-grabs showing salacious messages and blackmail of women. Some alleged incidents involved girls as young as 14.

Police on July 4 arrested Zaki who, according to prosecutors, has confessed to assaulting at least six girls including one aged under 18 and to blackmailing the victims.

While Zaki is awaiting trial, his case has kicked off a wave of other complaints in a society where, United Nations surveys say, most women have experienced catcalling, pinching, groping or worse.

In this file photo from 2013 protesters hold up placards and shout slogans during
a demonstration against sexual harassment in Egypt's capital Cairo (AFP Photo/
Khaled DESOUKI)

"Women immediately jumped at the opportunity to vent and tell their stories," the Instagram page administrator told AFP, requesting anonymity for fear of reprisals.

"It is now bigger than Ahmed Bassam Zaki. We receive a dozen messages per minute from girls and women telling of personal incidents of harassment, abuse and rape, some dating back years."

Victim-blaming

Following Zaki's arrest, the campaign has swept up other well-known figures.

One of them is Mohamed Hashem, a writer and founder of a top publishing house, who was detained over harassment allegations but later released on bail.

The current momentum builds on earlier #MeToo waves in Egypt, the latest in January following a mob assault on two women in Mansoura, north of Cairo, on New Year's Eve.

The Zaki case highlights that sexual assault and harassment -- widely perceived to be more prevalent among the poorer classes -- pervades all levels of society.

Zaki is a former student of the prestigious American University in Cairo. He briefly went on to study in Barcelona but was expelled this month after a claim of online harassment by another student.

A protester at a 2013 rally in Cairo holds a placard pledging an 'uprising of 

women in the Arab world' (AFP Photo/Khaled DESOUKI)

"We are talking about Class A, the creme de la creme of society who enrol in universities and schools worth tens of thousands of pounds annually," said Fathy Farid of Aman, an initiative against gender-based violence.

Campaigners hope the case will help shift attitudes in Egypt, which only criminalised sexual harassment in 2014.

Women in Egypt are often reluctant to speak out about sexual harassment, fearing public shaming and being blamed for wearing "provocative" clothing.

'A safer place'

In stark contrast to the #MeToo revival, Egypt has also seen an ongoing campaign targeting female TikTok influencers accused of "indecency and immorality".

Among recent cases is that of a 17-year-old girl who was arrested after posting a TikTok video in which she said she had been gang raped by a group of young men.

These girls "suffer discrimination and bullying" and their arrests "are part of violence against women because they come from lower classes," said lawyer Intesar al-Saeed.

Campaigners hope to shift attitudes in Egypt, which only criminalised sexual 

harassment in 2014 (AFP Photo/Khaled DESOUKI)

The Instagram group administrator also reported "a lot of these messages" attacking the women, but added that "they are nothing compared to the messages of support".

As more online testimonies have kept pouring in, the National Council for Women said it had received at least 400 complaints and enquiries on sexual harassment and abuse.

The government of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has taken some action.

His cabinet has approved amendments, yet to be passed by parliament, to the criminal code that would grant the right of anonymity to victims of sexual assault.

And the prestigious religious institution Al Azhar released a strongly-worded statement lambasting harassment as "forbidden and deviant".

The Dar al-Iftar, in charge of issuing religious edicts, slammed those who blame women for wearing provocative clothing as "sick".

The Instagram activist said the goal is, "if we're not forced to shut down the account for any reason, to turn Assault Police into a platform for women to share their stories.

"We are optimistic about making this country a safer place for women."

Sudan criminalises female genital mutilation

Yahoo – AFP, Abdelmoneim Abu Idris, July 10, 2020

Sudanese women walk in the capital Khartoum's district of Jureif Ghar (AFP
Photo/ASHRAF SHAZLY)

Khartoum (AFP) - Sudan's highest governing body Friday ratified a law criminalising female genital mutilation, a widespread ritual in the African country, the justice ministry announced.

The sovereign council, comprising military and civilian figures, approved a series of laws including criminalisation of the age-old practice known as FGM or genital cutting that "undermines the dignity of women", the ministry said in a statement.

The reform comes a year after longtime president Omar al-Bashir was toppled following months of mass pro-reform protests on the streets in which women played a key role.

Sudan's cabinet in April approved amendments to the criminal code that would punish those who perform FGM.

"The mutilation of a woman's genital organs is now considered a crime," the justice ministry said, punishable by up to three years in prison.

It said doctors or health workers who carry out genital cutting would be penalised, and hospitals, clinics or other places where the operation was carried out would be shut.

Sudanese women lift national flags by burning tyres as they take part in a
demonstration on Sixty Street in the capital Khartoum, on May 23, 2020
(AFP Photo/Ashraf SHAZLY)

Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok hailed Friday's decision.

"It is an important step on the way to judicial reform and in order to achieve the slogan of the revolution -- freedom, peace and justice," he tweeted.

The premier vowed that Sudan's new authorities would "forge ahead and review laws and make amendments to rectify flaws in the legal system".

Long decried as barbaric

Nearly nine out of 10 girls in Sudan fall victim to FGM, according to the United Nations.

In its most brutal form, it involves the removal of the labia and clitoris, often in unsanitary conditions and without anaesthesia.

The wound is then sewn shut, often causing cysts and infections and leaving women to suffer severe pain during sex and childbirth complications later in life.

Rights groups have for years decried as barbaric the practice, which can lead to myriad physical, psychological and sexual complications and, in the most tragic cases, death.

A doctor gives medical advice about female genital mutilation to a woman 

in Egypt, where the practice is already banned (AFP Photo/Mohamed el-Shahed)

The watershed move is part of reforms that have come since Bashir's ouster.

"It is a very important step for Sudanese women and shows that we have come a long way," women's rights activist Zeinab Badreddin said in May.

The United Nations Children's Fund has also welcomed the move.

"This practice is not only a violation of every girl child's rights, it is harmful and has serious consequences for a girl's physical and mental health," said Abdullah Fadil, the UNICEF Representative in Khartoum.

The UN says FGM is widespread in many countries across Africa, the Middle East and Asia, affecting the lives of millions of girls and women.

In Sudan, rights campaigners say the custom has over the past three decades spread to remote regions where it was previously not practised, including Sudan's Nuba mountains.

In neighbouring Egypt, as in several other countries, genital cutting is now prohibited. A 2008 law punishes it with up to seven years in prison.

Sudan's anti-FGM advocates came close to a ban in 2015 when a bill was discussed in parliament but then shot down by Bashir who caved in to pressure from some Islamic clerics.

Yet many religious leaders have spoken out against genital cutting over the years.

Women's bank helps Ivorian children to swap labour for class

Yahoo – AFP, Christophe KOFFI, March 8, 2020

For these Ivorian children, the canteen is a big draw of primary schooling made
possible by village women (AFP Photo/ISSOUF SANOGO)

Kokoti-Kouamekro (Ivory Coast) (AFP) - In a poor farming village in Ivory Coast, women are celebrating a new development that is allowing them to send their children to school instead of working in the country's cocoa plantations.

Until now, many families earning less than a dollar (a euro) a day had no choice but to send their offspring to work beside adults in the fields.

Crippling poverty is a major factor in the widespread use of child labour in Ivory Coast, which is the world's top cocoa producer.

But now with the help of a Swiss-based foundation, women in plantations around Kokoti-Kouamekro are turning to a network of small savings banks with the goal of protecting children.

The International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) has been working since 2007 towards the goal of ending child labour in Ivory Coast and neighbouring Ghana.

The ICI identified 200 child workers out of 900 people on the plantations of Kokoti-Kouamekro, a village of some 2,000 people in the Taabo region, 200 kilometres (125 miles) from Abidjan.

The foundation decided to back about 30 women in an association called Bakpa-elai, which watches out for children's interests.

It helped create a "feminine cell for economic reinforcement (Cefrec)", the formal term for the women's bank.

Since 2018, the ICI has set up 14 Cefrec units in the cocoa-growing parts to specialise in savings and credit with the aim of promoting children.

These local units opened the way for numerous money-making activities, including small shops and other business concerns, in Kokoti-Kouamekro and other villages.

Paying the workers

With seeds, boots and machetes supplied by the ICI, the women of the village association chose to save almost one euro apiece, after harvesting and selling yams, cassava, corn and other food products.

The collected money was placed in a box that requires three "key keepers" with joint access, to reduce any risk of embezzlement or temptation. People who are late for weekly financial meetings are fined.

Village women are also attending classes, with the emphasis on literacy (AFP 

Photo/ISSOUF SANOGO)

"In one year, we mobilised about 3.8 million CFA francs (about 5,800 euros / $6,500), and spent two million, with a positive balance of 1.8 million," said Patricia Kouadio Amami, the president of the association, clad in a multicoloured dress and headscarf.

"Thanks to our bank, we pay the people who work on the land in place of the children we used in the past. One of us has even been able to buy a computer for her student son," Amani said.

Empowered by working together, women are also challenging traditions in a rural culture where the father of the family makes all the decisions. The number of women members of the Bakpa-elai association in Kokoti-Kouamekro doubled in one year.

"I find the women formidable," said Marcel Amani, a cocoa planter.

"We used to send the kids out into the fields. Since the women created this association, all that has stopped," he told AFP. "They deserve our respect."

Child trafficking

The women have also begun classes in reading and writing, but the innovation that most attracted the children was a school canteen.

"The attendance rate has increased," said Lou Horyphine Koffi, head of the school. "The canteen contributes greatly to keeping the child in school."

"The women of Kokoti-Kouamekro have shown that they are capable of finding solutions to their problems by their own resources," said Euphrasie Aka, West and Central Africa coordinator of ICI.

Still, Ivory Coast is a major regional hub for child trafficking from neighbouring countries, some of whom come in search of work.

More than 1.2 million children were taken on by Ivorian cocoa plantations in 2013/2014, according to the ICI.

"We're going to note a worsening of the problem in absolute terms," Aka told AFP ahead of the release of a new ICI report planned for April.

"A high number of producers has emerged on the basis of the rise in cocoa prices... which implicitly leads to a high number of child workers," the organisation said.

Sudan cabinet scraps law abusing women's rights: state media

Yahoo – AFP, Paul MAROUDIS, November 26, 2019

Sudanese women marched in Khartoum on Monday to mark International Day
for the Elimination of Violence against Women, a day ahead of the cabinet
reportedly scrapping a restrictive public order law (AFP Photo/Ashraf SHAZLY)

Khartoum (AFP) - Sudan's cabinet Tuesday scrapped a controversial law that severely curtailed women's rights during the 30-year tenure of deposed autocrat Omar al-Bashir, state media reported.

Thousands of women were flogged, fined and even jailed during Bashir's rule under the archaic public order law.

"The council of ministers agreed in an extraordinary meeting today to cancel the public order law across all provinces," the official SUNA news agency reported.

The cabinet's decision is still to be ratified by the ruling sovereign council, which is an 11-member joint civilian-military body.

Bashir seized power in an Islamist-backed coup in 1989, severely restricting the role of women in Sudan for decades.

During his rule, authorities implemented a strict moral code that activists said primarily targeted women, through harsh interpretations of Islamic sharia law.

Bashir was deposed by the army on April 11 after months of protests against his rule.

Women were at the forefront of the demonstrations.

In February, Bashir had acknowledged in a briefing with reporters that it was the public order law that had angered younger generations, especially women.

Activists say security forces linked the public order law with article 152 of the Sudanese penal code, which stipulates punishment for "indecent and immoral acts".

Under the law those who consumed or brewed alcohol -- banned in the northeast African country -- were punished, while activists said security forces used the legislation to arrest women for attending private parties or wearing trousers.

Sudan's new government led by Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok has assured citizens it will uphold women's rights.

"The government has delivered what it had promised. This is a real win for us, for the feminist movement in Sudan and for women's rights," said prominent Sudanese activist Tahani Abbas.

"Many women were flogged and humiliated because of this shameful law. With this decision, Sudan is now moving toward a new life where women can enjoy dignity."

A senior member of Bashir's ex-ruling National Congress Party contended that it had been implementation of the law by individual actors -- rather than the law per se -- that had created problems.

"Some policemen were using this law to harass women," said Mohamed al-Amin, who is also a defence lawyer for Bashir.

"What we need is to precisely define under article 152 the dress code for women."

On Tuesday, the cabinet also decided to "restructure the country's judicial system in order to prepare it for the new era," SUNA reported without elaborating.

The cabinet also agreed to form a committee to review all appointments made during the Bashir era that are suspected of having been made on the basis of questionable personal connections or favours.

Bashir, who is in prison in Khartoum, is on trial for allegedly illegally acquiring and using foreign funds.