Women at a Unicef Centre tent. Sudanese women activists have reported that since the civil war which broke out in 2023, sexual violence has been used as a tool of war by both sides. Picture: via Sudanese Communist Party
By Aseel Saleh
Since the civil war broke out in Sudan in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), hundreds of women have reported being subjected to sexual violence by both of the warring parties.
The true number of victims is impossible to calculate given the complete collapse of services across the country, but what is certain is the tremendous impact the armed conflict has had on civilians, especially women and girls.
Since the war broke out, Sudanese women activists and human rights defenders have been emphatic in denouncing that the armed conflict has had a devastating impact on women’s fundamental rights.
In a press conference held on July 18 organised by the International Peoples’ Assembly, Peoples Dispatch, and Madaar, on how to understand the war in Sudan from an anti-imperialist and left perspective, the speakers, all women, also reflected on the challenges faced by women.
Niamat Kuku, Member of the Central Committee of the Sudanese Communist Party and a human rights activist; Randa Mohammed from the Sudanese Women’s Union; and Dr Ihssane Fagiri, a leading member of the Doctors’ Sector of the Communist Party, a member of the Sudanese Women’s Union, the founding member of the No to Women’s Oppression Initiative and a member of the Doctors Syndicate Preliminary Office, shared their analyses as well as necessary initiatives to safeguard the rights of the Sudanese people.
According to all of the speakers, the civil war has had a great impact on women in Sudan, particularly in the Darfur region and displacement camps, in addition to refugee camps in neighbouring countries.
Sudanese women, girls, children, and the elderly have been some of the most affected by the war. Women, like all Sudanese people, are subject to killing, displacement, homelessness, looting, humiliation, as well as loss of livelihood, the destruction of infrastructure, and state institutions.
During the current civil war, a large number of women have been subjected to rape. Civil society organisations and campaigns documented 423 rape cases, 159 of whom were children — meaning that 37 percent of victims in such rape cases were children.
However, these figures represent a low estimate, as they represent only documented cases. It has been very difficult for organisations to reach out to all those who have been subjected to rape.
Monitoring rape cases has also been hindered by the lack of state institutions and reporting mechanisms. “The social stigma of the victims of defaming their family’s reputation has been a major obstacle,” Randa Mohammed from the Sudanese Women’s Union said.
Some of rape victims have reportedly committed suicide after being raped due to negative social stigma coming from their families.
Additionally, displacement, relocation from an area to another, forced disappearance and arrest incidents made the documentation and reporting of rape incidents even more challenging.
In June of 2024, 20 women were released from forced disappearance, after being arrested by the RSF in Omdurman city, in Sudan’s capital of Khartoum. Many female journalists were pursued and threatened due to their journalistic work and their reports about the war.
Some of these women appeared in court after being allegedly charged by each warring party of working as a spy in favour of the other.
Rain seasons have had a negative impact on displacement conditions too. Heavy rain has resulted in many incidents of death, the disappearance of some family members while relocating from one place to another, and the restriction of movement. Rains contributed to the deterioration of the security situation during RSF raids, particularly in Aljazeera and Sennar.
Regarding humanitarian aid, some people have moved to the nearest camps in their areas, and have been provided with assistance and food by the resistance committees. However, there is still a major crisis related to humanitarian aid, as the United Nations has covered the needs of five million people only, while more than 15 million people are still unaided.
Recent reports showed that more than 25 million of the Sudanese population, estimated at 47 million people, are at risk of famine, while 730,000 children suffer from malnutrition.
Western Darfur is one of the most affected regions by the conflict in Sudan as it has already suffered several waves of violent conflict and ethnic cleansing. Many women were killed in this violence, while most of the victims were children.
The death rate among children in displacement camps is very high. One child dies every two hours in Zamzam camp, whereas 28 children died within the first two weeks of July in the Kalma camp.
As men had no choice but to be armed to protect themselves and their families, women have been charged with securing livelihoods for their families, taking care of the children by themselves without the assistance of male family members.
The situation of women has also been dire in refugee camps in neighbouring countries. Sudanese women who fled to Chad were able to receive humanitarian aid, nonetheless, those who fled to Egypt have been deprived of basic needs and services, including education, healthcare and housing.
The reason behind this is the large number of Sudanese refugees there. While 476,000 Sudanese people are officially registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Egypt, more than 200,000 are still not officially registered.
UNHCR’s slow procedure has caused delays in providing Sudanese refugees with protection, housing, education and healthcare services in Egypt. This has also restricted their movement in Egypt due to not having legal status yet.
Egypt has also suffered from the unavailability of many resources that it used to import from Sudan prior to the war, which in its turn affected the Sudanese refugees. Some female Sudanese refugees in Egypt have also been subjected to violence including rape.
In Ethiopia, one of the refugee camps is located within a forest whose main water resource comes from a swamp, so no fresh drinking water is available. Camps in Ethiopia have come under attack by militias, which resulted in the deaths of a number of people including one woman. In another camp, women have suffered from malnutrition and the lack of humanitarian aid.
The situation in South Sudan has been better than other areas due to the availability of humanitarian aid there, although limited. However, there is a hike in prices due to the collapse of the Sudanese economy and the agricultural season.
The war has also affected Sudanese women’s education. Some female Sudanese students had to flee to other countries to sit for university exams there. Furthermore, no school education is being provided in some asylum countries, above all Egypt.
“Due to the major role that the Sudanese women have played in social movements, political change and revolution, they have been more targeted by both warring parties,” Niamat added.
* This article is part of a series produced from the July 18 press conference, see the first article here
This article was first published on Peoples Dispatch