AT THE DAWN OF POST-REVOLUTION SUDAN A Reflection on the dynamics of the women’s movement
A Project by the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA Network)
Cover photography: Ula Osman Design by: Tarek Atrissi Design Published June 2021 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical or other means now known or hereafter invented including copying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa P.O. Box 2793 Kampala – Uganda www.sihanet.org
©SIHA Network 2021
Acknowledgements This publication has been developed through the generous support of PAX for Peace and a contribution from Sigrid Rausing Trust. SIHA acknowledges Dr. Lyn Ossome, who wrote and compiled this paper. SIHA also acknowledges the significant editing and reviewing efforts of Faith Sundby James, SIHA Programme Development and Advocacy Associate, and Hala AlKarib, SIHA Regional Director. SIHA is deeply grateful to the many interview and focus group participants whose testimony has fueled the analysis and findings presented in this publication. We recognize each of those participants and groups below: • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Members of the Sudanese Women Street Vendors’ Union Mastour Ahmed Adam – Secretary General, Sudanese Congress Party Sumaia Al Sheikh – Legal advocate/ human rights activist, People Legal Aid Center (PLACE) Suleima Isaac – Head of Unit, Prevention of Violence against Women and Children Dalia Digna – Central Committee member, Sudanese National Alliance Party (SNAP) Adeela Al Zaibag – President of Sudan Women Union (SWU) and a political activist Youth activists from Khartoum and the regions Amina Elshain – Member of the Women of Sudan Civic and Political Group (MANSAM) and member of the Freedom for Change Forces (FFC) executive committee Asmaa Mahmoud – Secretary General of the Republican Party, and Head of the Mahmoud Mohamed Taha Research Center Intisar Seghairoon – Minister of Higher Education The Women activists who spoke to the researcher from different regions of Sudan Sara Nugdallah – Women’s rights activist and member of the UMMA Party Dr. Muntaser Ibrahim – Educator, lecturer at the University of Khartoum and political organizer
Preface This paper was developed at a precarious time in Sudan’s history and discusses a critical topic that has always and continues to influence Sudan’s governance system and stability. The paper reflects on the struggle and achievements of the Sudanese women’s movement. The women’s movement in Sudan is considered to be one of the most vibrant and consistent social movements in the country. Since Sudan’s independence, Sudanese women have engaged in undeterred activism that persisted during the most difficult times of the country’s troubled political history. This paper also notes that the subsequent governments in Sudan have played an antagonistic role in the advancement of women’s rights, particularly in achieving an inclusive women’s agenda. The paper recognizes that it is high time that the Sudanese government and the ruling political institutions start creating a shift in their approach toward women’s rights and gender equality in Sudan. They must recognize it as a vital issue that will directly contribute to Sudan’s future. Without extensive legal and policy reform, Sudanese women and girls will continue to face subordination and institutional violence. The extensive participation of women in the Sudanese revolution has demonstrated their bravery and capacity to lead.The injustice of women’s continued marginalization is all the more unjust given their integral contributions to the revolution, which have paved the way for the transition toward a civilian government.
1. Overview Sudan has been gripped by months of political turmoil that climaxed with the army overthrowing long-time dictator Omar al-Bashir on April 11, 2019. The protests began in December 2018 with civilians decrying the shortages and economic hardships that had become increasingly unbearable for the citizens of Sudan. This initial trigger let loose an accumulation of grievances that had been growing in the country for decades and culminated in one of the most remarkable protests in recent times. The protest was historic for a number of reasons, but especially because it was a rare example of a popular, and, critically, peaceful uprising which confronted a brutal dictatorship and succeeded in achieving change without ever resorting to violence; despite violence being unleashed on the protestors themselves. The revolution has been characterized by its diversity of voices and the central role women have played through their participation, their leadership, and their ability to define the narrative and the nature of the sit-in and the protest. The willingness of women to be actively engaged in the planning and participation of the protests, often despite family and community pressure to abstain, and within a political and social environment which has been excessively oppressive and controlling of women’s lives, is a testament to their dedication and desire for change. This dedication was beautifully illustrated during the first Sudan Women Protest March that took place on May 31st and brought together thousands of women protestors, willing to proclaim their solidarity. The signing of the power-sharing agreement, the establishment of the transitional council, and the appointment of the Prime Minister are only the very initial steps in what is sure to be a delicate and precarious three-year transition to an elected civilian government. The continued participation and engagement of the full diversity of Sudanese society will be paramount for maintaining the promising and hard-won momentum gained through the revolution and for ensuring the transition stays on track. The revolution’s success rests in the solidarity and tolerance that was demonstrated on a daily basis at the sit-in site. Sudanese people of all backgrounds came together with a common goal, but the real challenge continues to be translating that goal into a reality that can satisfy diverse interests and priorities.Women’s continued role in Sudan’s transition will be critical to achieving peaceful and successful outcomes. The objective of this research, conducted in Khartoum in February 2020, was to obtain a holistic understanding of the women’s movement in Sudan, taking into consideration the historical, social, cultural and political context of the country. This report includes a brief historical trajectory of the women’s movement in the country, a description of the major issues arising in Sudan and more specifically in the women’s movement post-revolution, the achievements and strengths of the women’s movement as a collective, and the challenges, strengths, and areas of potential intervention. The intended outcome of this paper is to identify the types of responses that are required for long-term peace transitions to generate women’s access to decision-making.
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survivors of violence, including state violence, in ways that could increase the legal impact.The Sudanese revolution highlighted the difference that emerges between working within the state and exceeding the state – and also raised questions regarding who can access the law and who cannot. While previously, women’s rights activists were confined by existing laws of the state, an opportunity exists now to tear down old repressive laws and create or campaign for the ratification of new laws, protocols, and conventions. An example of such action has already been practiced with the Public Order Laws, and the ongoing campaign for the ratification of CEDAW. In other words, after the revolution, the mode of resistance has shifted to questioning the very basis of laws and institutions themselves and should also focus on law reforms that could change the anti-woman, Islamist orientation of the governing institutions themselves.
Women in Nayala, South Darfur, 2007 | SIHA Staff
Women now also hold significant moral authority/moral claim to political space due to their role in deposing the previous regime. Women’s large participation in the protests and resistance also culminated in a shift in societal attitudes towards women. There is an important space and opportunity that should be exploited towards furthering a progressive agenda for women.Women should in other words ride on the ‘revolutionary wave’ to increase their numbers as political actors, to push for changes in laws and policies, and campaign at the grassroots for a more permanent change in cultural attitudes toward women and girls. This window period is important especially in light of experiences and nationalist literature (albeit a different historical context) from other counties, which show that women’s bodies and resources have often been instrumentalized to achieve liberation and later cast aside in the post-liberation period. Ninth is the opportunity provided by the common struggle to narrow the divide between women’s movements in the centre and in the regions. The sitins provided an opportunity and platforms for people to talk in numbers about what was happening in the regions. Some of the women view the disconnect between the centre and the regions as part of the general struggle in Sudan: that is, the struggle between governing elites in the centre and those in the provinces. Unity over the political transition brought Sudanese women together around a common agenda for the first time in a long time and demonstrated that where there is political will and intention, existing barriers can be overcome. The dialogues between the centre and the regions should also now focus on dealing with questions internal to the women’s movement that caused the rift in the first place.The centre-regional divide also marks an elite chasm between the aspirations of women. Women recognize that beyond the revolution, the role they need to play now is even greater. Women are united over a number of issues which they consider to be priorities in the transition period.At the centre, these include: the need to reform discriminatory laws; push the government to ratify CEDAW and Resolution 1325 – as a basis for involving all Sudanese in the peace process; demand transitional justice and a constitutional declaration of a 40% quota for women in all constitutional bodies, and implement broad inclusion of women in governance. Grassroots women are better accounted for when the regions are included.
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The Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA Network) is an indigenous, African women’s rights organization with a soul. As a platform created by women activists from Somaliland, Ethiopia, and Sudan in the mid-1990s, SIHA brings together over 100 women’s rights member organization and gender equality-focused civil society groups in the Greater Horn of Africa.Today SIHA continues to work as an inclusive and diverse feminist women’s rights network that holds a unique position working as a regional civil society organization in a variety of cultural, political, and geographical environments in Uganda, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Eritrea, Somalia, Somaliland, Sudan and South Sudan.