Sudanese woman jailed for killing rapist disappointed by campaigners' 'false promises'

A Sudanese woman who was perviously jailed for killing her rapist husband has said she was "disappointed" with pledges of support, which have not materialised.

Speaking to The Guardian, Noura Hussein expressed her dismay at the lack of support that followed an international campaign for her release, which involved celebrities and international organisations.

“I am disappointed,” Hussein told the London-based newspaper. “Yes, they helped me to get an easier sentence at the end, but they also gave me false promises. Many said that they will help me with my education or to travel abroad. None of that has happened.”

Hussein, who was 19 at the time of her conviction in 2018, killed her husband who she was forced to marry at 16.

She was initially sentenced to death, however after an international campaign she was convicted of manslaughter and handed a five-year sentence.

The campaign involved UN agencies and a number of high-profile Western celebrities, including Emma Watson, Naomi Campbell and Mira Sorvino.

Among the promises made to Hussein during the campaign were pledges to help with her studies and potential relocation to France.

Hussein, who now lives in North Darfur with her cousin who she married after release, says none of the promises were honoured.

“I wasn’t really planning to get married at this stage of my life. I wanted to finish school first, but nobody helped me to do so. I wanted to become a lawyer to help the so many other girls who I left behind in the prison. I had a feeling of responsibility towards them when I learned their stories,” Hussein said.

Albeit briefly, the teenager's story spotlighted women's rights in Sudan, where the legal age to enter into marriage is 10 and marital rape is not considered a crime.