Kenyan domestic worker Esther Wanja Muthoni was sentenced to 100 lashes in Saudi Arabia after giving birth outside marriage, according to the report. (Foto: Instagram)
A court in Saudi Arabia has sentenced Kenyan domestic worker Esther Wanja Muthoni to 100 lashes after she gave birth outside marriage. The ruling was issued last month. Sex outside marriage is a crime in the country, and the timing of the flogging has not been announced.
Human rights groups say the risk of punishment leads many unmarried women to give birth at home. Muthoni went to a hospital, which reported her to the government. Children born to unmarried women in Saudi Arabia generally are not eligible for birth certificates, according to the report.
Muthoni, 40, reportedly became pregnant during a relationship with an Egyptian man who has since left the country. Her child was born about a year ago. Since then, she has tried to leave Saudi Arabia but has faced bureaucratic obstacles.
“I’m very afraid,” Muthoni said in a phone interview last month, according to The New York Times. “I don’t think I can withstand those lashes.” Saudi Arabia announced in 2020 that it was abolishing flogging after significant international pressure. The punishment may still be imposed in cases covered by Islamic law, including sex outside marriage.
