A feminist perspective on conflict in Sudan

By Zeinab Abbas Badawi
Writer and expert in the field of human rights and gender

Reports on women’s experiences in the war are only the tip of the iceberg. This paper seeks to begin to deepen this conversation by highlighting some additional women’s experiences, to explore the impact of the conflict on women and to discuss the role that can be played by women in resolving the conflict. 

War and conflict continue to have a strong presence in women’s lives, though they may take different forms. Some, like the current armed conflict, are open, and some are hidden, insidious conflicts waged against women. These are the product of systematic discrimination embedded in cultural, social, economic, and political norms. 

Sudanese women played a central role in the December 2018 revolution and the toppling of the Bashir regime in the name of freedom and societal justice. Though women showed their ability to lead they continue to face exclusion from political participation. Their engagement is both becoming more necessary but also faces new challenges as the conflict becomes more complex. 

Read the full paper.