Sudan is a country in northeastern Africa and is the largest country in both Africa and in the Arab World with an approximate population of 37 million. The world's longest river, the Nile, bisects the country from south to north. Sudan has 597 tribes that speak over 400 different languages and dialects, but there are two distinct major cultures — Arabs (people of mixed Arab and Nubian descent) and non-Arabized Black Africans — consisting of hundreds of ethnic and tribal divisions and language groups. As of 2009, Sudan is ranked as the third most politically unstable country in the world with one reason being the wide spread violation of human rights. A Sudanese journalist facing 40 lashes for wearing "indecent" trousers vowed on the eve of her judgment that she is ready to be whipped 40,000 times in her bid to change the country's harsh laws. Read more here. Is it fair to expect other countries to adapt to Western practices? Is this a case of a violation of human rights or should the journalist be expected to take her punishment for breaking Sudanese law?
