Teaching Comparative Government and Politics

Friday, August 22, 2008

Civil society, civil authority, religious authority

Things can get very complicated when varied parts of the state have differing priorities.

Sharia force targets sex workers

"Islamic authorities in the Nigerian city of Bauchi have carried out the arrest of sex workers identified by the Red Cross in a census.

"The Red Cross carried out the census amid efforts to tackle the spread of HIV in the north-eastern state.

"But after it had found 320 women, the local Sharia commission ordered that they be rounded up...

"The Sharia commission normally liaises with the police... but this time they acted directly, using their own security force to arrest the sex workers.

"It is not clear how many of the women have already been arrested.

"They could face flogging or prison terms.

"Following the arrests, the Red Cross has halted its census.

"Between 75 and 100 of the 320 women have so far tested positive for HIV..."



(Map showing location of Bauchi is from Wikimedia Commons, a great source of copyright-free maps and photographs.)

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