found: Dictionary of African Biography, accessed February 21, 2015, via Oxford African American Studies Center database:(Lawal, Amina; women's rights advocate; born 1973 in Kurami, Nigeria; studied a qurʼanic curriculum for a short period of time; was found guilty by Islamic courts of adultery for giving birth to a child while unmarried (at the age of thirty); the consequence as decided by the Funtua sharia court was death; the nongovernmental organization, BAOBAB for Women's Human Rights, came forward to assist in Lawal's appeal to the upper courts; there was tremendous pressure from human rights groups around the world for Nigerian officials to intercede on Lawal's behalf; a boycott was organized by contestants of the 2002 Miss World Beauty pageant, which was to be held in Nigeria; the winning argument for her defense was provided by the concept of “extended pregnancy” or a “sleeping embryo”; her sentence was overturned by the Katsina State Sharia Court of Appeals (25 September 2003); the president of Nigeria during the trial, Olusegun Obasanjo, had declared that he would personally overturn her case and spare her life; was praised as a symbol for the advancement of women's rights)
