From El Fasher to the World: Sudanese Women between State Violence and Resistance – Nemat Koko Mohamed
From El Fasher to the World: Sudanese Women at the Heart of Conflict, Between State Violence and Resistance – Nemat Koko Mohamed
On the outskirts of El Fasher, among the displacement tents that offer neither heat nor cold protection, Amina tried to quiet her crying infant, hungry and restless. She had nothing but a bottle of water and a few memories she tried to push away whenever she closed her eyes. Two years ago, she lived in a simple house, farmed a small plot of land, and taught her daughters how to read. Today, no house, no land, no daughters. She lost two of them in the bombing, and the third disappeared during the displacement, with no knowledge of whether she is alive or not.
Amina is not an exceptional case. She is one of millions of women who suddenly found themselves at the heart of a merciless war, where women’s bodies are used as a weapon to humiliate communities, and the most heinous forms of sexual violence, including rape, are perpetrated even in so-called "safe" areas. She whispers: "I no longer fear death; I fear surviving."
Today in Sudan, thousands are like Amina. Pregnant women give birth on the roadside, girls are forced to flee, survivors of mass rape contemplate suicide, and mothers search for their children among mass graves. Despite all this, their voices remain marginalized, protection is absent, accountability postponed, and justice distant.
Yet Amina, despite everything, refuses to break. Every morning, she fills a water bottle and sings to her child a song she once sang to her daughters.
The Beginning
In the midst of the raging war in Sudan since April 2023, women and girls have been at the forefront of suffering, as sexual violence is used systematically to humiliate communities, and serious violations are committed in conflict zones, from Darfur to Khartoum and Al Jazirah. Despite the widespread violence, Sudanese women, from various social classes and positions, continue to resist in all forms, demanding peace, protection of life, and the restoration of dignity.
This year, while women’s movements worldwide mark the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, Sudanese women stand at the heart of tragedy—not merely as victims but as active participants in a war that uses their bodies as a battlefield. This coincides with the 25th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security, which emphasized the need to protect women during conflicts and stated that sustainable peace cannot be achieved without their full participation.
Yet the Sudanese reality today reveals a painful gap between international commitments and practices on the ground, with women subjected to systematic violations amid a lack of protection and accountability mechanisms, and a worrying international and regional silence. Nevertheless, Sudanese women remain present, resisting, demanding, and redefining their role in wartime.
Sudanese Women and Systematic State Violence
State violence in Sudan became evident during the period of Islamic military rule, led by the Islamic Movement, which presented its civilizational project within a comprehensive program of political, economic, and social Islam. It imposed an integrated system of policies and legislation aimed at social change and enforcing a cultural structure that targeted the Sudanese women’s struggle history, in retaliation for the split in the "Sudanese Women’s Union" in 1954. At that time, the idea of adopting a system of economic and political rights for women as a comprehensive liberation project was debated. Islamic women’s leadership chose to split, while the Sudanese Women’s Union continued its path toward democratic women’s rights, fluctuating with the state’s shifts from authoritarianism to democracy, but consistently defending women’s rights linked to democratic values and social justice.
This clear targeting sought to restrict the movement of Sudanese women through a comprehensive system of legislation, especially public order laws that limited women’s freedom in public spaces, imposed Islamic dress codes, and led to arbitrary arrests for "immodest attire." Additionally, employment opportunities were narrowed, and arbitrary dismissals from state institutions were used as a weapon against women due to increased union activity, which disrupted the formal economy and expanded the informal sector, especially after the collapse of productive sectors such as agriculture and industry. Youth unemployment, particularly among young women, rose significantly.
These factors created a reality of organized violence against women, marked by increased rights awareness due to the expansion of civil society work, especially through women’s, youth, and human rights organizations. This environment fostered the public mobilization since 2018 for revolution and change, with Sudanese women making up over 70% of the revolutionary street, particularly young women who faced all forms of state violence. In war and conflict areas such as Darfur and the Nuba Mountains, since 2003, women have suffered serious violations, including mass rape as a tool of war and identity weaponization, forced displacement targeting demographic changes, and expanded poverty and economic marginalization. This has led to the phenomenon of "poverty belts" around major cities, with most households led by women, increasing the informal sector, estimated at over 68% of the general economy.
The current war (2023–2025) between the army and the Rapid Support Forces, with regional and international intervention, has escalated sexual violence against women, especially in Darfur, Khartoum, and Al Jazirah, perpetrated by the Rapid Support Forces. So-called "safe zones" under army and militia control were not spared. According to UN reports, 1,392 cases of sexual violence have been recorded since the start of the war, though statistics are incomplete due to documentation difficulties. These numbers represent only 2% of violations on the ground. The Rapid Support Forces ("Janjaweed") have used sexual violence, particularly rape, to humiliate conservative communities in Al Jazirah and for ethnic reasons in Darfur, forcing forced displacement. Thousands of related criminal cases exist, with 6.7 million people at risk of gender-based violence in Sudan. Displaced, refugee, and migrant women and girls are particularly vulnerable, facing compounded threats of all forms of violence, social stigma, lack of legal and social protection, and poor mental health.
Resistance in Wartime
Sudanese women, across social and class positions, have remained steadfast in defending their political, economic, and social rights despite all forms of state oppression and violence. They continued leading the public mobilization since the December 2018 uprising, playing a central role in the revolution under the slogan "Freedom, Peace, Justice." Since the catastrophic war outbreak in April 2023, women found themselves at the heart of the crisis, not only as victims but as essential actors in preserving life, confronting societal collapse, facing all forms of violence, and demanding justice.
Women’s and feminist initiatives number over 70 entities advocating for an end to the war, peacebuilding, and active participation in shaping the country’s future. With men absent due to fighting or displacement, women became the primary caregivers for their families, fulfilling roles as mothers, educators, nurses, and decision-makers, as well as confronting hunger and fear in displacement camps, creating shelters from nothing. They also participated in emergency rooms, functioning as "temporary local governments," set up by volunteer youth to provide essential services to citizens facing death, hunger, disease, and difficulties accessing drinking water, electricity, and communication services. These emergency rooms not only provided humanitarian aid but also helped evacuate people from frontline danger. With increasing numbers of displaced women, some young women established "women’s emergency rooms" to address gender-specific needs such as sanitary pads, sexual violence and rape protocols, and reproductive health services.
Conclusion
Despite all challenges, the question remains: can Sudanese women, from their various positions, pressure for an end to the war, achieve sustainable peace, and overcome the fragmentation dominating the political and civil scene? The answer depends on collective efforts, including women’s voices, through developing a shared agenda that ensures their voices and needs are represented, particularly for women in displacement centers and host countries. Community participation remains the pathway to effective coordination and amplifying women’s voices in all forums of international and regional organizations working to end the war and establish peace for a Sudan of revolution and change, based on equal citizenship rights and building the future civil democratic state.
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ANND Newsletter October 2025 - Facing Silence: A Critical Look at Women’s Realities in Our Region
