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| Sudan crisis: Women praise end of strict public order law | Sudan crisis: Women praise end of strict public order law |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Sudan has repealed a restrictive public order law that controlled how women acted and dressed in public. | Sudan has repealed a restrictive public order law that controlled how women acted and dressed in public. |
| On Twitter, Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok paid tribute to women "who have endured the atrocities that resulted from the implementation of this law". | On Twitter, Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok paid tribute to women "who have endured the atrocities that resulted from the implementation of this law". |
| The country's transitional authorities also dissolved the party of former president Omar al-Bashir. | The country's transitional authorities also dissolved the party of former president Omar al-Bashir. |
| Mr Bashir seized power in a 1989 coup and ruled for nearly 30 years before peaceful protests ousted him in April. | Mr Bashir seized power in a 1989 coup and ruled for nearly 30 years before peaceful protests ousted him in April. |
| Sudan is currently led by a joint military and civilian council, as well as a civilian-led cabinet headed by Prime Minister Hamdok. | Sudan is currently led by a joint military and civilian council, as well as a civilian-led cabinet headed by Prime Minister Hamdok. |
| Both these measures were a response to key demands of the protest movement, which aims to dismantle Mr Bashir's regime. | Both these measures were a response to key demands of the protest movement, which aims to dismantle Mr Bashir's regime. |
| People celebrated in the streets of the capital Khartoum overnight after hearing about the dissolution of the National Congress Party (NCP) and the end of the public order law. | People celebrated in the streets of the capital Khartoum overnight after hearing about the dissolution of the National Congress Party (NCP) and the end of the public order law. |
| Aisha Musa, one of two women on Sudan's new Sovereign Council, told BBC Newsday that while the former regime focused on how women dressed and acted - including preventing women from wearing trousers - it ignored their education and healthcare. | Aisha Musa, one of two women on Sudan's new Sovereign Council, told BBC Newsday that while the former regime focused on how women dressed and acted - including preventing women from wearing trousers - it ignored their education and healthcare. |
| "It is about time that all this corruption stops, that all this treatment for the women of Sudan stops," she said. | "It is about time that all this corruption stops, that all this treatment for the women of Sudan stops," she said. |
| What was the public order law? | What was the public order law? |
| A 2017 report by two charities described the restrictions as a blend of legal and moral prohibitions "designed to exclude and intimate women from actively participating in public life". | |
| They gave the authorities sweeping powers to arbitrarily control what women wore, whom they spoke to and saw, and any job they might hold - with any perceived offender facing punishment by flogging, or in rare cases stoning and even execution. | |
| Moreover, the public order rules were kept "vague and open-ended leaving them open to exploitation as a social control tool by the authorities," the report said. | |
| Human rights activist Hala al-Karib told BBC Newsday that repealing the law was a "massive step" for her country, arguing the legislation enforced the old regime's ideology, which was "based in terror and discrimination". | Human rights activist Hala al-Karib told BBC Newsday that repealing the law was a "massive step" for her country, arguing the legislation enforced the old regime's ideology, which was "based in terror and discrimination". |
| Authorities had the power to "literally hunt women", she said, and these laws disproportionately affected poorer women, women from conflict zones and people outside the capital, Khartoum. | |
| But while she welcomed the end of the law, Ms Karib said more needed to be done to end "a very discriminatory legal framework". | But while she welcomed the end of the law, Ms Karib said more needed to be done to end "a very discriminatory legal framework". |
| Women were at the forefront of the movement that toppled Mr Bashir. | Women were at the forefront of the movement that toppled Mr Bashir. |
| On 25 November, Sudan held its first march in decades for the International Day for Eliminating Violence Against Women. | On 25 November, Sudan held its first march in decades for the International Day for Eliminating Violence Against Women. |
| One law for the rich... | One law for the rich... |
| By James Copnall, BBC News, Sudan analyst | By James Copnall, BBC News, Sudan analyst |
| The decision to revoke the Public Order Law is a momentous step. The authorities used it in particular to control women. Some received 40 lashes for wearing trousers in public. | The decision to revoke the Public Order Law is a momentous step. The authorities used it in particular to control women. Some received 40 lashes for wearing trousers in public. |
| The way the law was applied underlined the divisions and tensions within Sudanese society. | The way the law was applied underlined the divisions and tensions within Sudanese society. |
| In recent years it was common to see rich Khartoum women wearing trousers in public - while those targeted by the morality police were often poorer women from the marginalised areas on the periphery of this vast country. | In recent years it was common to see rich Khartoum women wearing trousers in public - while those targeted by the morality police were often poorer women from the marginalised areas on the periphery of this vast country. |
| The National Congress Party, meanwhile, was a colossus, the political vehicle for a regime which tried to reshape every part of Sudanese life - and cracked down extremely hard on anybody who disagreed. | The National Congress Party, meanwhile, was a colossus, the political vehicle for a regime which tried to reshape every part of Sudanese life - and cracked down extremely hard on anybody who disagreed. |
| The authorities hope that dismantling the NCP will help stop the old regime from undermining the transitional government. | The authorities hope that dismantling the NCP will help stop the old regime from undermining the transitional government. |
| There is a certain irony about a transitional government set up to move the country to democracy banning a political party. But nobody other than its partisans will mourn the NCP, which is blamed for creating so much misery. | There is a certain irony about a transitional government set up to move the country to democracy banning a political party. But nobody other than its partisans will mourn the NCP, which is blamed for creating so much misery. |
| Those who led the protests - and women's rights activists in particular - are celebrating the demise of the NCP and the law, even if they recognise this is just the start of a longer struggle to transform Sudan. | Those who led the protests - and women's rights activists in particular - are celebrating the demise of the NCP and the law, even if they recognise this is just the start of a longer struggle to transform Sudan. |
| What about Mr Bashir's party? | What about Mr Bashir's party? |
| Dissolving Mr Bashir's National Congress Party (NCP) means that the authorities can seize the party's assets. The decree confirmed that a committee would be formed to do this. | Dissolving Mr Bashir's National Congress Party (NCP) means that the authorities can seize the party's assets. The decree confirmed that a committee would be formed to do this. |
| This, Mr Hamdok tweeted, was so they could "retrieve the stolen wealth of the people of Sudan". | This, Mr Hamdok tweeted, was so they could "retrieve the stolen wealth of the people of Sudan". |
| The decree also said "none of the symbols of the regime or party would be allowed to engage in any political activity for 10 years". | The decree also said "none of the symbols of the regime or party would be allowed to engage in any political activity for 10 years". |
| A spokeswoman for the Sudanese Professionals Association, the protest group that toppled al-Bashir, told the BBC this was "a historic moment". | A spokeswoman for the Sudanese Professionals Association, the protest group that toppled al-Bashir, told the BBC this was "a historic moment". |
| "This is a moment of relief, because each and every person in Sudan has been affected in some way or the other by this regime in a negative manner," spokeswoman Samahir Mubarak said. | "This is a moment of relief, because each and every person in Sudan has been affected in some way or the other by this regime in a negative manner," spokeswoman Samahir Mubarak said. |
| But the NCP condemned the move as "nothing more than a moral scandal, an act of intellectual bankruptcy and a total failure on the part of the illegal government". | But the NCP condemned the move as "nothing more than a moral scandal, an act of intellectual bankruptcy and a total failure on the part of the illegal government". |
| "The party is not bothered by any law or decision issued against it as the NCP is a strong party and its ideas will prevail," a post on the party's Facebook page read. | "The party is not bothered by any law or decision issued against it as the NCP is a strong party and its ideas will prevail," a post on the party's Facebook page read. |
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