Sudanese women in wartime: Resilience that creates hope and pathways for recovery

Dear subscribers and readers of the newsletter, below is the women’s newsletter from the Sudan News Agency (SUNA), part of the media service file for women’s agencies under the Federation of Arab News Agencies (FANA). Thank you.

Saida Hemmat Mohamed

Khartoum, November 6 (KUNA) -- Sudanese women have remained throughout the ages a symbol of dignity and pride, and a fundamental pillar in building society and shaping its history. They have inscribed their presence in the pages of history since the era of ancient Sudanese kingdoms, with their role evident in national, social, cultural, and economic spheres. They were not merely witnesses to the nation’s journey, but active partners in shaping its events, guardians of its values and identity, educators of generations, and creators of hope even in the darkest of circumstances. Sudanese women combined strength of stance with noble generosity, remaining exemplars of patience, resilience, and sacrifice, contributing to shaping Sudan’s present and envisioning its future.

The war that erupted in Sudan in April 2023 was not merely a military confrontation that halted the wheels of life and disrupted state institutions; it also triggered profound economic and social transformations, imposing an exceptional reality and multiplied responsibilities on Sudanese women. These responsibilities extended beyond family care to include seeking income sources, managing crises, and innovating new means of resilience and continuity. Amid these repercussions, Sudanese women were not merely victims of the war or passive observers of its harsh chapters; they transformed into active forces confronting the crisis, protecting society from fragmentation, and securing the basic necessities of life for affected families.

From humanitarian initiatives, shelters, and communal kitchens to the continued provision of health services, the launch of economic and productive projects, Sudanese women have emerged as models of resilience, initiative, and generosity, demonstrating their capacity to confront challenges and contribute to building hope, opening avenues for recovery, and rebuilding.

Amid job losses, institutional shutdowns, damaged markets, and displacement, large segments of women have turned to establishing small businesses, reviving home-based productive activities, and leveraging digital media for marketing and promoting products and services. They have also managed marketing and media platforms that have become windows for work, communication, and providing alternative income sources.

Sudanese Women: A Long Journey of Participation and Achievement

These transformations are an extension of a long history of Sudanese women’s participation in public life and the labor market, which began with the spread of girls’ education in the early 20th century. The first school for girls opened in the city of Rufaa in 1907, followed by the Teachers’ College in Omdurman in 1921, marking the beginning of Sudanese women’s ascending journey of participation and excellence in academic, scientific, and research fields.

The first two Sudanese female doctors graduated in 1952, after which women’s presence expanded in education, health, law, administration, media, and politics, alongside agriculture, commerce, and self-employment. Sudanese women have also made influential contributions in professional, judicial, and legal institutions, holding leadership positions in the judiciary, public prosecution, and courts, as well as in high-level economic and administrative roles, including the presidency of the Central Bank, in addition to managing service and artistic centers and institutions.

Women have also contributed to establishing private enterprises and small-scale economic activities, particularly in food industries, handicrafts, agricultural production, and trade, although a significant portion of this activity remains outside official employment statistics.

On the legislative and parliamentary level, Sudanese women entered parliament in 1965, with their presence in legislative institutions growing as the political experience evolved, reaching 18 percent representation in 1999, 25 percent in the 2010 elections, and 30 percent in 2015, according to data in the report. This presence contributed to strengthening women’s participation in legislation and in discussing laws and regulations governing work and public life. The 2007 National Civil Service Law included provisions on equal pay for equal work, promotion based on qualifications and performance, maternity leave, and special arrangements for nursing mothers; however, the implementation of these rights and their coverage of women workers in the informal sector remain among the most prominent challenges. Data from the World Bank, based on International Labour Organization estimates, indicate that women’s participation in Sudan’s labor force was approximately 14.5 percent in 2022, compared to 61.6 percent for men. These figures do not fully reflect the extent of women’s contributions to domestic, agricultural, family-based activities, and small-scale trade, which are important sources of income and livelihood. With the ongoing war since 2023, access to recent data reflecting the scale of transformations in the labor market has declined, amid the erosion of economic structures, disruption of institutions and national resources, including human resources, of which women constitute a fundamental part.

The war and the reshaping of the reality of working women have led to widespread disruptions in the labor market due to the closure of factories, institutions, and markets, damage to infrastructure, disruption of banks and transport routes, as well as the displacement of large numbers of workers and their families, resulting in job and income losses for thousands of households. In the face of these conditions, Sudanese women did not wait for external aid but instead pioneered mechanisms rooted in local communities, drawing on their experience and sense of social responsibility, to provide a model for protecting the social fabric and reinforcing values of solidarity and compassion during crises. This contribution was evident in women-led initiatives to assist those affected in conflict and displacement areas, where community kitchens, communal dining facilities, and other initiatives became part of the community relief system, alongside efforts to find alternative income sources for the commercial and economic activities that women had lost. Given the difficulty for some aid agencies and supply chains to reach affected areas, women contributed to establishing and managing community kitchens and communal dining facilities within neighborhoods and displacement centers to provide food for the most vulnerable groups. This role extended to the health sector, which suffered destruction, looting, and arson, where medical and nursing staff and women’s volunteer teams formed a crucial pillar in continuing to provide health services in hospitals, shelters, and refugee and displacement camps. This presence was not limited to humanitarian and relief fields but extended to the economy, media, and social life within Sudan and in neighboring countries that hosted waves of refugees. Despite the loss of property, destruction of capital and homes, thousands of women in conflict and displacement areas sought to establish small enterprises and innovate new productive and marketing activities, including handicrafts, artisanal products, food processing, and services. These enterprises contributed to providing income sources for families, stimulating commercial activity in host communities, and injecting liquidity into local markets, despite the ongoing war and depletion of resources. Sudanese women in the media...

A prominent presence and resilience in wartime: To understand the role of Sudanese women journalists during the war, the Sudan News Agency (SUNA) spoke with Dr. Salwa Hassan Sadiq, a professor of journalism and media at the Faculty of Media, University of Omdurman Islamic University, and director of the Sudan Academy for Communication Sciences and Media Training, one of the bodies under the Sudanese Ministry of Information. She stated that Sudanese women journalists emerged during the war as active partners in the battle for awareness, witnesses to events, and conveyors of the details of the conflict and its humanitarian and social repercussions, despite facing risks such as displacement, loss, and professional and family pressures.

She explained that female journalists have continued since the outbreak of the war to fulfill their mission through official institutions, newspapers, and media platforms, employing various forms of journalistic work, from news reports and investigative pieces to opinion articles, while also contributing to public awareness and discussing political, social, and economic issues. She added that the role of women journalists extended beyond reporting events to monitoring sensitive files, particularly those concerning sexual violence and war violations, experiencing and documenting citizens’ suffering, and balancing family responsibilities with professional duties under highly complex conditions.

She noted that some female journalists faced trials and legal cases due to their coverage of files related to the war and its repercussions. Dr. Salwa highlighted the presence of women journalists in initiatives and associations supporting those affected by the war, including the Isnad Association for Supporting War-Affected People in Egypt, where female journalists participated in awareness and support activities. In this context, she mentioned documenting aspects of war practices and violations in her book, “From Zero Distance,” which contains thirty stories and was launched last April.

This presence is an extension of the history of Sudanese women in media work since the 1950s and 1960s, when pioneers such as Fatima Ahmed Ibrahim, Suad al-Fatih al-Badawi, and Nafisa Ahmed al-Amin contributed to establishing an influential female presence in journalism, intellectual work, and media. The experience has proven that the mission of women journalists does not stop in the face of wars and crises; rather, it becomes even more important during times of hardship, remaining a voice for truth, a memory of events, and a key partner in shaping awareness and protecting society.

Businesswomen: Economic initiatives in response to the war’s repercussions. Businesswoman Samia Shabo, vice president of the Services Chamber at the Union of Commercial Chambers, stands out among models working outside Sudan to encourage displaced women to engage in small enterprises. She contributed to establishing multiple projects to absorb women affected by the war.

In a statement to SUNA, she said the war created significant economic and production challenges, including the shutdown of factories, markets, and companies, disruption of supply chains, loss of income sources, and rising costs of production, raw materials, and services. These factors directly impacted women-led enterprises, weakening their ability to survive and meet market demands.

She added that, despite these conditions, businesswomen have sought to maintain their economic activities and reestablish their enterprises after displacement, both within Sudan and abroad, continuing production in food processing, baking, soap and detergent manufacturing, perfume design, Sudanese fashion and clothing, and handicrafts.

She explained that female entrepreneurs leveraged their expertise and business networks to find new outlets for work and marketing, despite scarce resources, financing difficulties, energy shortages, and challenges in securing production inputs.

She emphasized that the war had highlighted the importance of women-led projects in supporting the local economy, preserving jobs, and sustaining household income sources. She noted that the role of businesswomen extended to supporting displaced and affected families and community initiatives, thereby helping to mitigate the crisis’s impacts and strengthen community resilience. She called for granting women in the coming phase the status, opportunities, and tools necessary to participate in shaping Sudan’s future.

Women’s empowerment is essential for recovery and reconstruction. As Sudan moves toward recovery and reconstruction, the need arises to support women across various sectors and leverage their resilience and initiative during crises by expanding domestic and international participation opportunities, and providing training and capacity-building. It is also crucial to enable businesswomen to restore their productive capacities by providing flexible financing, alternative energy, equipment, and production inputs; restarting damaged enterprises; linking women’s products to domestic and international markets; and developing food processing and packaging industries.

Rebuilding the national economy requires harnessing women’s capabilities as key partners in production and investment, rather than merely as beneficiaries of support programs, thereby contributing to job creation, diversification of the productive base, and enhanced economic recovery.

Thus, Sudanese women were not merely observers of the events and developments that Sudan witnessed during the years of war; they were key actors in managing daily life, protecting the social fabric from disintegration, and ensuring the minimum conditions for a dignified livelihood. Sudanese women affirmed that their role in crises extends beyond resilience in the face of hardship to actively fostering hope and opening pathways for recovery and reconstruction, ensuring they remain essential partners in restoring normalcy and building Sudan’s future. (End) SUNA