by Marelie Manders, Heidelberg IWC and Human Rights Team Co-Chair
Sudan is currently dealing with one of the fastest-growing global crises. About nine months ago, war erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF – a militia previously linked to the Sudanese Government). Since that time, more than 7 million people have fled their homes. About 25 million people, including 14 million children, need urgent humanitarian assistance and support.
This war has created a grim situation for women, with different forms of gender-based violence becoming widespread. It has also been reported how women’s access to political participation, education and economic empowerment has been negatively affected by their displacement.
The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom has published several first-hand accounts from women directly affected by the conflict.
They highlight the story of a 21-year old student, who was unable to continue her university studies because of her displacement. While she used to operate an online business selling women’s products, this has proven difficult from her current location, and the business is not providing her with the stable income she used to have. In the town she fled to, she reports that it is hard to access the products she needs for her business, including sanitary pads, and that the society is much more conservative, requiring women to dress in specific ways.
Another woman interviewed reports feeling a great deal of anger at her displacement. Whereas she previously worked in logistics, she reports that in her new town, there are no jobs available to women, only to men. She reports feeling extremely worried about sexual violence and kidnapping.
Another account from a woman who fled from Khartoum reports that before the war, she was economically independent and living alone. Because of the conflict, she lost her job and had to move to live with her family in another state. She now depends on her father, and is forced to do all domestic chores for her brothers, who are aiming to restrict her movement.
As can be seen from these personal stories, this war has had a great impact on the private spaces of women in families that are now hosting others from the extended family displaced by the war. In some extended families, restrictions have been placed on women’s freedom of movement, preventing women from traveling to neighbourhood markets, and on their style of dress. Displaced women fear that not complying with these restrictions will show disrespect for the cultures in these communities, which could cause them to be in even more vulnerable positions.
References:
War in Sudan: Women facing new injustices
In Sudan, It Is a War on Women – WILPF
Sudan: Nine months of conflict – Key Facts and Figures (15 January 2024)
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