By: Taru Ahluwalia

Edited By: Alice Weldon

Warning: This story contains words and accounts that depict sexual assault that some readers may find disturbing. 

In 2014, Sudanese army troops carried out the mass rape of 221 women and girls in Tabit, North Darfur. This atrocity remains as one of the largest acts of gendered violence in 20th-century conflicts, making then-President Omar Al-Bashir the only sitting head of state wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes. Yet, this horrific event was neither the first nor the last in Sudan’s violent history. The fierce, ongoing battle between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which reignited on April 15, 2023, has continued this tragic legacy of violence against women. Within this conflict, parastate groups, rebels, and various factions systematically target women and girls, whom Deniz Kandiyoti terms as bearing the symbolic weight of being the “mothers of the nation.” In such a conflict , they become vulnerable within a nation-making project dominated by a masculine agency.

Sexual violence in Sudan is entrenched in a broader lawless environment, where women’s bodies are reduced to commodities to be bought, sold, and consumed. Accounts of sex-slavery markets in an area known as “Hell Creek” in Darfur, and reports of kidnappings, rapes, mutilations, and murders of female civilians reveal the horrific extent of gender-based violence in Sudan. Militants kidnap women, particularly in conflict zones like Darfur, Southern Kordofan, and Blue Nile,  where armed forces are highly concentrated. Stories have emerged of RSF fighters entering homes and singling out “Habashiyat” (a derogatory term), subjecting women to dehumanizing violence by beating and threatening them with rape in front of their families. Alongside this, there is mounting evidence that local women human rights defenders involved in protests, rights campaigns, social services, journalism, and other public activism are being systematically subjected to various forms of intimidation and harassment. The infamous Public Order Law (PLO) sought to control women and ethnic minorities. Through the law, the smallest diversions from the conservative norm are criminalized and the vested authorities have the power to arrest and detain people on the pretext of “disorder.” This disproportionately affected women, especially political activists, who were frequently targeted and persecuted.

Police and national security officers often engage in sexual taunting during crackdowns by calling women activists “sharmuta” (whores). In the wake of the initial wave of youth-led protests, the sexual abuse of Safiya Ishaq of the Girifna (“we are fed up”) movement was widely reported, though the government denied the incident. As in most other cases of sexual violence, the perpetrators face no justice. Human Rights Watch documented how Sudanese security officials exploit discriminatory laws to silence and intimidate women, who are frequently threatened to stay silent about the abuse. “If you try to file a case, the police will not consider the seriousness of your claim or offer any protection,” said Azza, another victim of abuse. Many other victims face similar challenges, as legal immunities shield members of the security forces from prosecution. Some activists, like Safiya Ishaq, have been forced to flee the country. However, leaving is not a viable option for many, especially those with children who do not possess the financial means and know-how. These systemic barriers reveal Sudan’s reality: the law serves the man.

Violence against women during conflict extends beyond individuals, impacting communities, families, and the nation. Women’s bodies become sites of communal violence, making them symbols of purity that can be vilified as a vessel through which ideals of masculinity, honor, and nationalistic ambitions flow. This societal burden is evident in the traditional roles Sudanese women are expected to uphold, conforming to chastity and conservatism, with their family’s men bearing the responsibility of safeguarding their honor. Salah of the Emergency Lawyers remarked that the RSF has been primarily responsible for perpetrating rapes, often attacking in groups, to crush the spirit of communities, instilling a sense of failure among them in their inability to protect their women. By centering women in this narrative, it becomes clear that the Sudanese state often exploits or regulates their very presence, representing sites of trauma and resilience to embody the nation’s history of struggle and survival. Women’s marginalization and loss of power intensify as conservative Islamic politics and hyper-masculine militarism gain dominance, leading to their bodies becoming instruments of control and subjugation. 

Addressing perpetrators of sexual violence in the context of a national healing agenda presents significant challenges. Women labeled as “victims of no agency” may never receive transitional justice, reflecting a broader international tendency to address such violence at the national level rather than through international redressal means. “Most of the things happening now, there is no police, no evidence; you don’t have names, you don’t have any information,” explains the Coalition for Women Against Violence (CVAW). Under these circumstances, accountability may never happen.

For the Sudanese authorities, conducting a thorough and impartial investigation into all reports of sexual violence, whether perpetrated by state or non-state actors, is essential to hold perpetrators accountable. This can only happen if laws that provide immunity from prosecution for perpetrators are repealed, such as the National Security Act of 2010. Meanwhile, the United Nations and the African Union must increase their engagement with Sudan by conducting visits to investigate and report on patterns of abuse against females. Additionally, there should be a concentrated effort to support or provide direct protection to women human rights defenders who are facing or recovering from abuse by state authorities. These steps can improve support for the establishment of a protection network within the country.

The events that have unfolded during the Sudan Civil War have profoundly shaken the society, and the repercussions will resonate long after the conflict has ended. Many families remain uncertain of the fate of their missing daughters, while others struggle to bury their grief and remain silent about the assaults women have endured, grappling with the stigma attached to being a victim of such crimes in a society that is highly sensitive to questions of honor. In response to the resulting vacuum in support services for survivors of sexual assault, grassroots civilian networks have bravely stepped up to provide assistance. In one account shared with Al Jazeera, reports of rape are circulated via mobile phones, alongside information on pharmacies and clinics that offer vital help. Sudanese civil society organizations strive to provide treatment to victims of sexual violence within the critical 72-hour window to prevent pregnancy and the transmission of sexually transmitted infections. Human rights defenders and activists play a crucial role in coordinating support, often at great risk, helping survivors obtain the necessary legal, medical, and psycho-social services when needed. However, these efforts face significant challenges, and if the army’s failure to protect women and the state’s indifference to their struggles continue, armed self-defense may become their only recourse. 

The Sudanese government not only bears the responsibility for the abuses highlighted here, but also to uphold the rights of Sudanese society to operate, assemble, and express themselves free from reprisal or unreasonable constraint. The division between geo-political womanhood and personal womanhood reveals the trauma of war, and we can conclude that the female becomes a body to be defiled not only by countrymen but also to be completely trampled by political history itself. Understanding the forces driving violence against women exposes the socio-political trauma, and leads the way for the recovery and rehabilitation of abducted and abused women by the paternal state.