New laws passed recently in Sudan have taken effect now allowing women to travel with their children without needing a permission from a male relative.
The new reforms come after long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir was ousted last year following protests. A ban has also been placed on female genital mutilation (FGM).
“We [will] drop all the laws violating the human rights in Sudan,” Justice Minister Nasredeen Abdulbari said.
Sudan is also now allowing non-Muslims to drink alcohol. They are now allowed to drink, import and sell alcohol.
Public flogging has also been scrapped by Sudan, according to the government.
Non-Muslims are now allowed to consume alcohol in private, however the ban on Muslim drinking remains, Mr Abdulbari said.
Non-Muslims could still be punished if they are caught drinking with Muslims, the Sudan Tribune reports him as saying.
The minister said the government wants to safeguard the rights of the country’s non-Muslims, who constitute an estimated 3% of the population.
“We are keen to demolish any kind of discrimination that was enacted by the old regime and to move toward equality of citizenship and a democratic transformation,” he said.
For 30 years imposition of strict Islamist laws has been in place in Sudan.
It sparked a long-running civil war which eventually led to independence for South Sudan, where the majority of people are Christian or follow traditional religions.
