In Nigeria, the acquittal of Safiya Hussaini, the woman...

In Nigeria, the acquittal of Safiya Hussaini, the woman who had been sentenced to death by stoning for adultery, was welcomed with a tremendous joy except among the supporters of strict enforcement of shari'ah, the Islamic law.
The atmosphere is marked by a feeling of victory obtained after a hard fight. Mrs Aishat Ismail, one of the six female ministers in the federation, expressed the same feeling following the court ruling. This victory is not for Safiya alone; it is the victory of all women in Nigeria, said the minister for women and youth. She has promised a federal government grant to the divorced woman as part of the poverty alleviation programme. Safiya's lawyers, who waged a legal war against the Sokoto State Islamic court, were overwhelmed with congratulatory phone calls both from the president and members of the bar association.
Parallel to this public jubilation, however, shari'ah supporters were not hiding their frustration. Safiya's release is at the heart of talks in mosque yards, where the news caused a lot of grief, just like bereavement or a failure. The international community and, above all, the international media have come under harsh criticism. People explain that stoning is not worse than electrocution or lethal injection, which are practiced in the United States.