{"id":20127103,"date":"2026-01-26T18:55:57","date_gmt":"2026-01-26T17:55:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dabangasudan.org\/?p=20127103"},"modified":"2026-01-26T18:56:21","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T17:56:21","slug":"sudans-war-has-become-a-systematic-assault-on-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dabangasudan.org\/en\/all-news\/article\/sudans-war-has-become-a-systematic-assault-on-women","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Sudan’s war has become a systematic assault on women\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sudan\u2019s war, now more than 1,000 days old, has shifted from a military confrontation to what feminist and human rights groups describe as a widespread and systematic assault on women and girls.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking to Radio Dabanga’s women-focused\u00a0Kanadaka and Miriam (\u0643\u0646\u062f\u0627\u0643\u0627\u062a \u0648 \u0645\u064a\u0627\u0631\u0645)<\/a>\u00a0programmes, activists and researchers said sexual violence is being used deliberately to terrorise communities, amid the collapse of protection systems and near-total impunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Women, they stressed, are now at the centre of the conflict, in frontline areas and in displacement sites, where abuse overlaps with hunger, poverty, and insecurity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sexual violence as a weapon<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Aisha El Karb of the Sudanese Organisation for Research and Development said survivor testimony and field research show that\u00a0sexual violence<\/a>\u00a0is being used as a method of warfare, not as isolated misconduct.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said attacks often target women based on\u00a0ethnic identity<\/a>\u00a0and location, particularly in Darfur and other conflict zones, and are intended to humiliate communities and fracture social structures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

El Karb also highlighted the stigma survivors face, which prevents many from seeking medical and psychological care, while perpetrators act without fear of accountability. Despite this, she noted that Sudanese\u00a0women continue to organise<\/a>\u00a0grassroots support networks, including emergency response rooms and\u00a0community kitchens<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trauma, health collapse, and poverty<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Feminist activist Hanan Hassan said documentation remains limited, but survivor accounts point to patterns of gang rape, abduction, and sexual exploitation. She said many women suffer\u00a0long-term psychological trauma<\/a>, social isolation, untreated injuries, sexually transmitted infections, and\u00a0unwanted pregnancies<\/a>, while the collapse of the health system leaves care out of reach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She added that the war has also destroyed women\u2019s livelihoods, pushing many into extreme poverty and heightened vulnerability to exploitation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Calls for peace and accountability<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saadia Eissa Ismail Dahab of the Women Against Injustice initiative said activists reject the war and call for sustainable peace without conditions. She warned that sexual violence is being used to displace communities and reshape demographics, with devastating long-term social consequences. Survivors, she said, often face stigma, violence, or\u00a0dangerous survival routes<\/a>\u00a0such as trafficking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amira Othman of the\u00a0No to the Oppression of Women initiative<\/a>\u00a0said the conflict has targeted women since its earliest days, while rhetoric about \u201cprotecting honour\u201d masks escalating abuses. She condemned the blaming of women trapped in conflict zones and stressed that accountability for violations must not be forgotten.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exploitation and camp risks<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Human rights defender Mona Abdelmoneim Salman said women across Darfur, Khartoum, and El Gezira have faced raids, kidnappings, and coercion, including cases where women were forced to\u00a0exchange sex<\/a>\u00a0for food as aid and protection collapsed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\u00a0Kiryandongo refugee camp<\/a>\u00a0in Western Uganda, activist Rafia Ahmed Adam reported worsening malnutrition after cuts in food assistance and rising harassment of girls in schools, where protection is weak.<\/p>\n