Get you up to speed: Woman sentenced to 100 lashes for giving birth outside marriage in Saudi Arabia | News World
Esther Wanja Muthoni, a Kenyan domestic worker, has been sentenced to 100 lashes in Riyadh after authorities were notified of her having given birth outside of marriage. The punishment is pending, leaving Muthoni living in fear of when it may be carried out.
Esther Wanja Muthoni was sentenced to 100 lashes in October through judicial interpretation of the unwritten Sharia penal code following the discovery of her pregnancy outside marriage. Despite international scrutiny, the Saudi government has yet to confirm whether it will review the implementation of flogging penalties in her case.
UK human rights group Alqst condemned the sentencing of Esther Wanja Muthoni, calling it an “act of violence” and inconsistent with Saudi Arabia’s international image. Despite previous announcements regarding a review of flogging as punishment, it remains a possibility under the kingdom’s legal system, leaving Muthoni uncertain about the future of her sentence.
What remains unclear — It is uncertain when or if Esther Wanja Muthoni’s sentence of 100 lashes will be carried out.
Woman sentenced to 100 lashes for giving birth outside marriage in Saudi Arabia
The Kenyan domestic worker continues to live in fear of when her sentence will be carried out in Riyadh (Picture: Getty Images)
A woman who gave birth outside marriage was sentenced to 100 lashes in Saudi Arabia after being reported to the authorities.
Women’s rights campaigners have raised the alarm after reports that a Kenyan domestic worker is due to be punished for the birth, which can be considered an offence under the country’s Sharia law system.
The mother, Esther Wanja Muthoni, has been left in limbo and fear of the possible punishment more than a year after she gave birth to her son.
She is one of scores of women recruited from the African continent to Saudi Arabia, many of them working in homes and as nannies.
One of them is Muthoni, who was living with her baby under some trees at a Riyadh gas station.
The domestic worker gave birth to the baby boy last year after a brief relationship with an Egyptian man, who has since left the country, the New York Times reports.
Sign up for all of the latest stories
The kingdom, which follows Islamic Sharia law, is among the top countries for migrant workers.
As of the end of last year, the country hosted an estimated 10 million non-Saudi workers, with many of them in the capital, Riyadh, according to the UN migration agency IOM.
Her pregnancy outside marriage was discovered when she went into labour in the staff housing in August last year before being taken to a hospital.
She was then reportedly detained for questioning by the police, who asked her about the pregnancy.
Pregnancies by unmarried women fall into a grey area under the unwritten Sharia penal code, leaving judges room to interpret it.
Many mothers try to hide their pregnancy and give birth at home, so a number of cases will never be reported.
In the mother’s case, the judges decided to sentence her to 100 lashes based on a Quran verse after deeming her guilty of having sex outside marriage in October.
The 40-year-old told NYT: ‘I am so afraid.
‘I don’t think I can endure those lashes.’
The mother of five continues to wait to see when or if the sentence will be carried out, and hopes she can return to Kenya, even through a deportation.
UK human rights group Alqst labelled her punishment as an act of violence and contrary to the image the kingdom wants to portray internationally.
Saudi Arabia has previously announced a review into flogging as punishment, but it remains a possible option for judges considering cases like drinking alcohol or adultery, it is understood.
WTX approached the Saudi government for a comment.
Add WTX as a Preferred Source on Google