Sudanese Women as Agents of Change in the Wake of Conflict
The women of Sudan are ready to help design a peace movement that protects themselves and their children.
By Marie Jones
Sudan’s post-colonial period has been marked by long bouts of internal conflict and nondemocratic governance that appear to have inured some of the international community to the suffering of women and children bearing the brunt of the current crisis. Even so, it is also women who are positioning themselves to lead the humanitarian response and campaign for an end to the conflict.
Large-scale conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that erupted in April 2023 over control of the state and its resources threatens to bring famine to Sudan, and 8.6 million people have been displaced as a result of the violence. The third-largest country by area in Africa now has more displaced people than anywhere else in the world. Fighting in recent weeks around El Fasher in the North Darfur region, the last major population center not already under RSF control, has a humanitarian disaster looming.
There are broad international interests at stake in Sudan given its strategic location, its natural resources, and its importance for the stability of its neighbors. Sudan is a strategic bridge between North and sub-Saharan Africa, and Russia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates have all sought port agreements with Sudan for access to the Red Sea, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. Sudan is also an important global producer of gold, and Russia and its Wagner Group have been linked to the illicit mining and smuggling of gold from areas under RSF control. This arrangement allegedly helps finance the RSF’s weapons purchases. Meanwhile, Sudan’s outpouring of refugees adds further strain on fragile political and socioeconomic conditions regionally.
Millions of women and children are suffering a disproportionate humanitarian burden as a result of the violent chaos.
And yet there’s another aspect to Sudan’s crisis that demands a stronger response from the international community broadly, and the African diaspora specifically. Millions of women and children are suffering a disproportionate humanitarian burden as a result of the violent chaos. Some sobering accounts of the effects on this vulnerable population include:
Roughly 19 million school-aged children have been forced out of the classroom in the past year either because of violence and displacement, or the state’s inability to compensate teachers and other workers. The U.N. warns that this situation puts Sudan “at risk of becoming one of the worst learning crises in the world.” The longer that children are out of school increases the odds of lifelong losses in income-earning potential with direct implications for Sudan’s socioeconomic future.
An estimated 3 million children are also malnourished — a situation set to deteriorate further when Sudan enters the lean season between harvests that lasts from approximately June to September. These children will have to survive with dwindling food reserves and rising rates of infectious diseases. Women are often left to deal with the consequences as men willingly or forcibly participate in the conflict.
Both the SAF and the RSF have reportedly conscripted children into the armed conflict, and are accused of targeted killings against civilians, including children, based on their ethnicity and perceived support for the other side.
Soldiers have also used sexual and gender-based violence against Sudanese women and girls as tactics in waging war to sow fear and chaos. All forms of gender-based violence are increasing in Sudan, especially as women and girls flee from one state to another, when their homes are looted, in temporary shelters, and as they await visas at border crossings. Domestic violence cases are also increasing.
These few examples are alarming but might not fully reveal the severity of the situation for women and children. One NGO official warned that “limited media coverage and communications blackouts had concealed the true scale of the crisis.” What offers hope are networks like the Peace for Sudan Platform comprised of dozens of women-led peace initiatives, humanitarian projects, and civil society organizations that have formed since last April. The platform’s member organizations are led by Sudanese women with expertise ranging from women’s rights advocacy, peace, and development, to water, sanitation, and hygiene.
The opportunities for international NGOs, nonprofits, and multilateral organizations to boost Sudanese women’s efforts are plentiful.
The opportunities for international NGOs, nonprofits, and multilateral organizations to boost Sudanese women’s efforts are plentiful. For example, the Peace for Sudan Platform could benefit from assistance in monitoring the activities of the SAF and RSF, documenting violations, and exerting pressure for a resolution to the conflict. These women-led groups also need help in providing shelter, medical services, and other support to affected families. Without external support, they will struggle to address the acute task of providing medical and mental health care to pregnant women and girls in shelters for the internally displaced. Many of those women and girls were impregnated due to sexual abuse, and the resources needed to assist them are scarce.
This isn’t the first time that Sudanese women have been on the front lines of implementing change. Women made up roughly two-thirds of protestors whose outcry against oppression and economic austerity helped lead to the ouster of former president Omar al-Bashir in 2019. Despite their political activism, these women were largely excluded from internationally led peace efforts and transition talks. Now there is another opportunity. The women of Sudan are ready to help design a peace movement that protects themselves and their children. A boost of support from international actors and the African diaspora could go a long way in creating space for Sudanese women to play a central role in Sudan’s future.
Marie Jones is a senior international and defense researcher at RAND, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research institution. This commentary is part of a RAND initiative to analyze conflict in Africa and African diaspora countries and follows previous pieces on the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Haiti.
This originally appeared on The RAND Blog on May 30, 2024.
