Imagine being pregnant, only to find out after your baby is born you're going to die? Well that's exactly what one 27-year-old woman from Sudan has to face. The pregnant mother, who already has a 20-month-old toddler at home, is being sentenced to death in what can only be called cruel and unusual punishment. Trust me—you're going to be angry when you find out why!
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Meriam Yehya is a Christian woman who is being sentenced to death just because she refuses to convert to Islam, the religion of her estranged father. She's being convicted on charges of "apostasy," the crime of abandoning your religious faith. But Meriam doesn't believe she's actually committed apostasy because she was raised from a young age as a Christian by her Christian mother. Her father walked out of her life when she was just six.
It gets worse, she was also convicted of "adultery"—not because she was unfaithful to her husband, but because she married a Christian man from South Sudan and not a Muslim, even though she's not even Muslim to begin with! Does this make any sense? But apparently her marriage is considered void under Sharia law. Ugh!!
This poor woman was given just three days to convert to Islam or she would face death. "We gave you three days to recant but you insist on not returning to Islam. I sentence you to be hanged to death," the judge told the woman in court. "I am a Christian and I never committed apostasy," she had replied. Not only is she facing a possible death sentence, but she's also going to be given 100 lashes for her supposed "adultery." How cruel is that?
As for the baby, the court is waiting for Meriam to give birth in June and right after that she'll receive her death sentence. Her poor husband feels so helpless about it all. "I'm so frustrated. I don't know what to do," he told CNN. "I'm just praying."
It really upsets me that this sort of thing still goes on today. It makes me livid but also reminds me to appreciate that I live in a country where I can practice any belief system that I want and I can't get charged for adultery or anything of that nature. My heart really goes out to this poor woman. Hopefully the international outcry her case has sparked and the human rights organizations involved now can do something to help her!
Image via Thinkstock
