{"id":139570,"date":"2019-06-18T18:47:48","date_gmt":"2019-06-18T16:47:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/the-victories-and-continuing-struggles-of-women-in-sudan-the-conversation\/"},"modified":"2019-06-18T18:47:48","modified_gmt":"2019-06-18T16:47:48","slug":"the-victories-and-continuing-struggles-of-women-in-sudan-the-conversation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/the-victories-and-continuing-struggles-of-women-in-sudan-the-conversation\/","title":{"rendered":"The victories — and continuing struggles — of women in Sudan | The Conversation"},"content":{"rendered":"

The victories — and continuing struggles — of women in Sudan<\/a>: <\/p>\n

Women have played important political, social and economic roles throughout Sudan's history.<\/span> EPA-EFE\/Morwan Ali<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One of the most popular images from Sudan\u2019s protests that led to the overthrow of Omar al-Bashir is that of Alaa Salah \u2013 a young, female university student. The image of her speaking to a crowd highlighted the presence and role women had in the uprising. <\/p>\n

While the video challenged narratives prevalent in global media \u2013 which sometimes portray African and Muslim women as victims who lack agency \u2013 Alaa Salah\u2019s courage is but an extension of the roles that women have played throughout Sudan\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

Warrior queens and queen mothers had crucial power in Sudan\u2019s ancient kingdom of Kush and its metropolis, Meroe (circa 1069 BCE to 350 CE). Women, like the poet Mihera Bit Abboud, mobilised men against the Turko-Egyptian colonial invasion of Sudan in the 1920s and Anglo-Egyptian rule in the 1950s. <\/p>\n

Women were also major actors in the opposition to Bashir\u2019s regime throughout its 30 years of rule, which began when he led a military coup against a democratically elected government in 1989. This resistance was not unusual given the regime\u2019s discrimination against women, in both law and practice. This included the use of rape in war and also violence against women activists in youth movements. <\/p>\n

Both locally and abroad, Sudanese women led organisations to help women challenge human rights violations, build leadership skills, protest and mobilise. For example, when Bashir\u2019s government imposed austerity measures in 2013 and 2016 \u2013 causing the prices of basic commodities and medicines to soar \u2013 women mobilised civil disobedience. <\/p>\n

There were hopes that the overthrow of Bashir would lead to change in the situation of women. But there are now worries under the Transitional Military Council, which assumed power and has since violently suppressed protesters. The council has created an atmosphere where it is difficult to advocate for broader participation for women, commitment to women\u2019s human rights, or gender equality.<\/p>\n

These become less of a priority as the situation worsens.<\/p>\n

Lessons – good and bad<\/h2>\n

Sudan must learn from the experiences of neighbouring countries. Take Egypt. The transition to civilian rule, following the Arab Spring in 2011, was accompanied by a backlash in women\u2019s human rights and a rise in sexual violence and harassment. <\/p>\n

I started teaching about the Uprisings in North Africa (Arab Spring) as the protests were unfolding. As with Sudan, women played a key role in the 2010 and 2011 protests. Initially, Egyptian feminists described Tahrir Square, where Egyptians camped, as a \u201cutopia\u201d where sexual harassment against women in public spaces, for example, disappeared. Unfortunately, women later faced various forms of sexual violence and harassment in the streets. The government also attacked women\u2019s organisations. <\/p>\n

Leaders in Egypt\u2019s women\u2019s movement continue to face arrest and detainment. The director of Nazra for women\u2019s studies, Mozan Hassan, was unable to travel to New York to attend the United Nations\u2019 Commission on the Status of Women this year because of a government-imposed travel ban. <\/p>\n