This Nation scraps its Law prohibiting Women from wearing revealing Clothes and consuming Alcohol

Sudan’s govt on Friday overturned a moral policing law that criminalised wearing revealing clothing & drinking alcohol, & dissolved the country’s former ruling party, fulfilling the 2 key demands of pro-democracy protesters. “This law is notorious for being used as a tool of exploitation, humiliation & violation of rights,” Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok said in a tweet.

“I pay tribute to the women & youth of my country who have endured the atrocities that resulted from the implementation of this law.”

The Public Order Act was 1^st passed in 1992 by al-Bashir’s Islamist govt & enforced only in the capital, Khartoum, before being applied nationwide 4 years later. The law criminalised a wide range of individual behaviour, including revealing clothing & drinking alcohol. Those convicted of violating the act could face prison sentences, fines, lashing & confiscation of property.

Sudan’s sovereign council & Cabinet announced both decisions after a 14-hour long meeting that ended shortly after midnight on Thursday. It said the law to dismantle al-Bashir’s National Congress Party (NCP) would also confiscate the party’s assets & funds.

The sovereign council grew out of a power-sharing agreement between the country’s ruling generals & protesters demanding sweeping political change. Under the deal, the council & the civilian-led cabinet share legislative powers until a new parliament is formed.

Pro-democracy groups in the country have also held fresh protests demanding the former ruling party’s disbandment & the exclusion of all its remnants from different state institutions.

PM Hamdok tweeted that the bill dismantling al-Bashir’s party isn't the outcome of “a quest of vengeance but rather to preserve & restore the dignity of our people who have grown weary of the injustice under the hands of National Congress Party (NCP), who have looted & hindered the development of this great nation.”

The Sudanese Professionals Association, which spearheaded the uprising against al-Bashir, hailed the move as “an important step” towards the establishment of a civil & democratic state in Sudan.

Sudan’s Justice Minister Nasr-Eddin Abdul-Bari announced that the law passed by the interim govt on Friday would transfer all assets & funds of al-Bashir’s party to the state treasury.

"With this law, we will be able to retrieve a lot of funds that were taken from the public treasury to create institutions that acted as a parallel state,” Abdul-bari told reporters after the meeting.

Al-Bashir was arrested after his overthrow in April & is currently on trial for charges of corruption & money laundering. A verdict is scheduled for Dec. 14.

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