The Sudanese Woman: an Analysis of Gender Roles and Equality in the Sudan
“If you look at any Muslim society and you make a scale of how developed they are, and how successful the economy is, it’s a straight line. It depends on how much they emancipate their women.” — Christopher Hitchens
Some background on Sudan. Officially recognized as the Republic of Sudan, the country is located in North-eastern Africa between Egypt and Eritea. Previously a united nation, South Sudan gained independence from the Republic of Sudan on July 9th, 2011 in a religious dispute over Christian Muslim cultural and political differences. Since the split of Sudan and South Sudan, conflict has broken out in the Southern Kordofan Blue Nile region, displacing 1.2 million people, as well as in Darfur, with 6,000 civilian deaths and 500,000 displaced. This following the conflict in 2003, displacing nearly two million people and causing 200,000 to 400,000 deaths. This has caused intense political and social instability in Sudan. In addition, since 1999, oil has been responsible for most of Sudan’s GDP growth, and with the secession of South Sudan, Sudan lost three-quarters of that industry. The split between Sudan and South Sudan solidified Sudan’s position as an Islamic state. In 2012, a year after South Sudan officially seceded, President Omar Hassan al-Bashir made a public statement saying,
“We want to present a Constitution that serves as a template to those around us. And our template is clear, a 100 percent Islamic constitution, without communism or secularism or Western (influences)… And we tell non-Muslims, nothing will preserve your rights except for Islamic Sharia because it is just.”
The imposition of Sharia law into the government of Sudan is by definition detrimental to the role of women. Their societal inferiority and lack of rights is directly written into their legal code and is enforced — stoning of women for offenses as small as “immodest dress” is not an uncommon act in Sudan even in our modern day. For example, while the Sudanese Criminal Code technically prohibits rape, the distinction between rape and adultery was only made in 2015, and it is written that “Consent shall not be recognized where the offender has custody or authority over the victim”. This combination of political instability caused by civil conflict, the economic instability caused by the loss of the oil money they depended on, and the social and cultural implications of the solidification of their status of a state governed by Sharia law is severely detrimental to the role of women and promotion of gender equality in the Sudan.
“Consent shall not be recognized where the offender has custody or authority over the victim” — Sudanese Criminal Code
Sudan fares poorly when it comes to health, especially women’s health. In developing countries where women are not given access to education and are legally and culturally subject to health and sexual practices determined by men, women’s health fares quite poorly. In a country where female genital mutilation is common practice and formal birth control is nearly unheard of, not only does prenatal and sexual health suffer, so does mental health. Due to the dominant role of the husband in Sudanese culture due to religious beliefs and culture, in a study published in the American Journal of Public Health states that 96% of Sudanese women use the “natural method” or no birth control, and only 51% felt a wife must consent to sex. This lack of control over reproductive practices in such an economically and politically unstable country is incredibly counter-productive to the furthering of women in society, and can even be dangerous. It is also a direct result of the cultural landscape created by the combination of instability and strict Islamic law.
As far as childbirth goes, Sudan has the 9th highest infant mortality rate at 50.2/1000 live births as almost half of women have no safe-motherhood services. An issue that rises with the discussion of childbirth and with women’s health in Sudan, is that nearly 90% of Sudanese women aged 15 to 49 have been victims of female genital mutilation. A brutal act committed upon girls, almost always 15 and under, female genital mutilation is deemed a human rights violation by the World Health Organization and has no purpose other than to decrease sexual pleasure for women and culturally “prepare them” for marriage. It is stated by WHO that how much importance a country places on women’s virginity and marriageability is positively correlated to the amount young girls are circumcised. The amount of importance Sudanese culture and sharia law places on the marriageability, chastity, and modesty of women makes FGM an incredibly prevalent problem. In a country where the degree of risk for major infectious diseases is ranked very high by the World Factbook, not only does it cause problems with childbirth, it can cause issues with menstruation, sexual problems, vaginal issues, as well as lead to a myriad of other infectious, genital, and scarring complications. In addition, this ubiquitous, ludicrous, and unnecessary endangerment of women’s well-being reinforces their role in Sudanese society as nothing more but future candidates for men’s spousal property.
“…in a study published in the American Journal of Public Health states that 96% of Sudanese women use the “natural method” or no birth control, and only 51% felt a wife must consent to sex.”
When it comes to the furthering of women’s rights in development countries, health and education goes hand in hand. There have been countless studies directly linking the educational level of women with their health, as well as the betterment of communities as a whole. The education life expectancy of a woman in Sudan 7 years, and 41% of girls have had less than 2 years of schooling. While basic education is free in Sudan, factors such as geographical proximity, out of pocket financial costs, and crippling gender roles prevent many women from gaining even a basic education. Women with an education are more likely to contribute to the economy, be able to care for their children’s and own well-being in a more educated way, and having an education gives them means to a livelihood, which can help them break out of the patriarchal and misogynistic dependence the Sudanese culture breeds. More educated women are also more likely to use birth control, and have more say in family planning, which not only improves the economy, but also the health overall of women. A woman with fewer children is able to better care for their needs, and is not subjecting herself to dangers such as pregnancy and childbirth if she is in a precarious situation, like many are because of the conflict in the region. Having an education also puts women at a lower risk of HIV/AIDS, either by keeping them out of sex work, or giving them the tools to seek treatment.
It all starts with education. Giving women an education is giving them professional and economic bargaining tools, exposure to alternative ways of thinking outside of the oppressive societies they are raised in, and gives them means to communicate and serve their communities. Using NGO’s and other established infrastructure in the area, establishing schools and educational centers focused on educating women is crucial. Not only basic academic education, but sexual health education, as well as education on other physical and mental health issues. Nearly a third of women in the Sudan in a study published in the American Journal of Public Health exhibited signs of major depressive disorder, and 98% of those women said they thought counseling from international agencies might be helpful. If we give women in Sudan access to an education, we give them a point of view outside of the one established by their society. Institutionalized religion can be harmful enough on its own, inside the home, especially to women. Its effects only worsen when it is codified into law. Not only then do harmful religious practices become a moral standard, they then too become legal ones. Giving women an education gives them different ways of thinking both philosophically and logically, which can lead them to become functioning members of the economy. Becoming an indispensable part of the economy puts them in a position to inflict legal and social change, allowing them to challenge the very structure that oppresses them.
Institutionalized religion can be harmful enough on its own, inside the home, especially to women. Its effects only worsen when it is codified into law. Not only then do harmful religious practices become a moral standard, they then too become legal ones.
The connection between health (specifically women’s health) and the education of women is a fairly obvious one, but not one I have thought through deeply in the past. Education is the epitome of empowerment, but the connection between fertility rates, childbirth, and childcare is surprisingly direct. In the eyes of an American, “women’s health” includes contraception and pregnancy, but in a much less severe way. Being able to draw the connection between Sharia law and FGM and developing countries’ child-bearing issues was incredibly enlightening and reaffirms Malala Yousafzai’s words, “Education is education. We should learn everything and then choose which path to follow. Education is neither Eastern nor Western, it is human.” Once women are given this choice of path is when real change begins to occur, in their health, in the well-being of their communities, and in the development of their nations.
Once women are given this choice of path is when real change begins to occur, in their health, in the well-being of their communities, and in the development of their nations.
For more information and news on Sudan and specifically the Nuba region, check out https://nubareports.org/ for on the ground reporting, they’re doing amazing work.
