{"id":20116363,"date":"2025-04-30T23:41:47","date_gmt":"2025-04-30T21:41:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dabangasudan.org\/?p=20116363"},"modified":"2025-04-30T23:41:49","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T21:41:49","slug":"the-body-as-a-battlefield-sexual-violence-in-sudan-is-a-deliberate-genocidal-tactic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dabangasudan.org\/en\/all-news\/article\/the-body-as-a-battlefield-sexual-violence-in-sudan-is-a-deliberate-genocidal-tactic","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The body as a battlefield\u2019: Sexual violence in Sudan is a \u2018deliberate genocidal tactic\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The systematic use of gender-based violence (GBV) against women in Sudan, particularly in Darfur, is not an unavoidable byproduct of conflict but \u201ca deliberate genocidal tactic” aimed at destroying communities, experts argued during an online panel discussion hosted last month by the Darfur Women\u2019s Action Group (DWAG).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The panel, titled \u2018Protection, Inclusion, and Empowerment of Sudanese Women’, brought together activists, legal scholars, and genocide prevention specialists, who detailed the impact of the ongoing war on Sudanese women and girls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cGenocide is not just mass murder. It\u2019s a calculated attack on women\u2019s ability to reproduce and on the very fabric of community life.”<\/em><\/p>\n -Dr Elisa von Joeden-Forgey, executive director of the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention and Human Security<\/em><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

A central theme of the discussion was the deliberate targeting of women’s bodies as a method of group destruction. Von Joeden-Forgey argued that the observed patterns of violence in Darfur align with established definitions of genocide: “Many of the tactics used to destroy a group, many performed on women\u2019s bodies, are recognised in the genocide convention.” She pointed to Raphael Lemkin\u2019s emphasis on gendered violence in his original framing of the term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Understanding genocide, she stressed, requires recognising attacks on reproduction in its biological, social, and cultural dimensions. \u201cWhen you look at the patterns, from the encirclement of villages and systematic rape to brutal mutilations and public humiliation, genocide is not just mass murder. It\u2019s a calculated attack on women\u2019s ability to reproduce and on the very fabric of community life.\u201d By targeting women’s reproductive capacity and safety, perpetrators attack a community\u2019s fundamental ability to survive and regenerate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Von Joeden-Forgey drew parallels between the current violence in Sudan, particularly by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and systematic attacks by their predecessors, the Janjaweed militias* during the 2003 Darfur genocide<\/a>: \u201cThe continuation of similar methods by the RSF, including eviscerating pregnant women, raping women and girls in public and in front of family members, using sharp objects, killing infants, mutilating pregnant women, all while shouting racist epithets,” indicates a clear intent to destroy and humiliate targeted groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This analysis matches humanitarian reports on Sudan. An Amnesty International report published this month detailed the RSF’s systematic use of sexual violence<\/a> “to humiliate communities, assert control, and displace communities across the country.” Last month, the UN children’s agency (UNICEF) documented the rape of at least 221 children<\/a> by armed men, some infants as young as one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Doubly vulnerable\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“There are countless historical injustices that leave deep scars with us women. What is our salvation?” <\/em><\/p>\nSadya Eisa, Secretary-General of the Usratuna Sudanese Association for Persons with Disabilities.<\/em><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Sadya Eisa, secretary-general of the Usratuna Sudanese Association for Persons with Disabilities, highlighted the compounded risks facing women and girls with disabilities in conflict. \u201cA lack of clear support mechanisms makes women with disabilities the most vulnerable to all forms of violence.\u201d Accessing justice and legal aid, she added, is nearly impossible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Women with intellectual disabilities face particular risks due to communication barriers and the breakdown of support systems. \u201cIn many cases, they die from starvation after their families lose their livelihoods.\u201d She called for specialised centres and better data to protect this often-overlooked group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The panel also addressed the collapse of Sudan\u2019s healthcare infrastructure. In January, an RSF bombing of the maternity ward<\/a> at Saudi Hospital in El Fasher, North Darfur, killed at least 70 people and injured dozens more. The attack destroyed the city\u2019s only fully operational hospital. Across the country, many health facilities have been targeted<\/a>, while humanitarian agencies have suspended operations due to insecurity, leaving expectant mothers and newborns with no access to care<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018An afterthought\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“Who took up on themselves again and brought community together, and stayed and endured unimaginable suffering to give hope to others? Women!”<\/em><\/p>\n  Niemat Ahmadi, Founder and President of DWAG.<\/em><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Panelists argued that the exclusion of women from decision-making processes is a fundamental part of the problem. “Women are often the first responders in crises And yet they\u2019re profoundly underrepresented at all levels of power,\u201d von Joeden-Forgey noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former U.S. ambassador-at-large for global women\u2019s issues, Kelley Currie, echoed this, lamenting that women are invited to the peace process “not as an integral part but as an afterthought, as an added value to the table.\u201d She recalled the resistance she faced when advocating for sanctions on the warring generals: \u201cIt is no surprise that men insisted I didn\u2019t understand the situation and what I was talking about, saying I\u2019m the one threatening peace with sanctions, somehow I was the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The way forward, panellists urged, requires intentionally centring Sudanese women in all peace, justice, and reconstruction efforts. Von Joeden-Forgey reminded attendees that women offer unique foresight, as they \u201ccan see genocide before it reaches mass murder state, because their body is always a subject of contestation\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DWAG founder Niemat Ahmadi called for the establishment of parallel institutions led by women, inspired by historical models, to forge inclusive and immediate responses. \u201cWe can\u2019t sit around forming task forces. We need action now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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*The ethnic tensions<\/a> that seem to underpin the current violence in Darfur have a long and bloody history in Sudan, especially during the  2003 Darfur civil war and subsequent genocide.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many survivors from Darfur describe their attackers as \u2018Arabs\u2019 and compared them to the janjaweed militias who fought for the Sudanese government in Darfur since the war broke out in 2003 and were largely made up of Arab herding tribes.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The janjaweed were recruited from Arab nomadic tribes to repress a revolt over ethnic marginalisation<\/a> and are held responsible for the genocide against Darfuri farmers<\/a> and other non-Arab\/African groups, to which the Masalit belong, and were also called \u2018devils on horsebacks\u2019. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The RSF are so contentious in Darfur because they were established by the Al Bashir regime<\/a> in August 2013 and grew out of the janjaweed. They have in the past been predominantly recruited from the Rizeigat Arab herding tribe, which RSF Commander Mohamed \u2018Hemedti\u2019 Dagalo hails from.<\/strong><\/p>\n