GENDER TRAVELS

In theory, the center administratively follows the laws and guidelines of the Supreme Council for Vocational Training and Apprenticeship. These laws make no reference to limitations on women’s admission in vocational education. Similarly, there is no official reference concerning the ban of women from apprenticeships at the training center, itself. Yet, as research has uncovered, administrators have taken it upon themselves to limit women’s choices by only granting them access to particular departments. There is no certainty as to when the practice of limiting women’s access to vocational education began but Niyazi’s response presumes that it was an unspoken norm in the institution born from the discriminatory rules of society. This example shows how women’s access to spaces is effectively deterred even when there is no clear legal precedent for denying them. In this instance, actors utilize social codes to govern women’s access to education, namely by defining what kind of education is appropriate for women. This underlines how, despite being granted equal access within the law, the state’s norms and values affect society’s expectations of women. Historically, women’s participation at the vocational institute was kept purposefully low. Thus, it may be argued that the vocational institute represented a site of resistance for women who managed to enter that space.

Movement from one region to another affects gender norms, values and expectations, which in turn, are influenced by exposure to new institutionalized structures of gender that appear in social relationships, and in the economic and political realms. 21 Migration is a gendered process in itself, as migration can stem from and instigates social change. With that being said, questions around migration and gendered social change are critical to understanding the spaces and opportunities available to any given group, where migration results in transforming gender discourse, norms and behavior.22 The migration of Sudanese groups from peripheral regions to Greater Khartoum demonstrates the aforementioned shift in gender discourse as a result of migration. The process of re-gendering the women who migrate to the urban center reveals an interesting link to occupational segregation.

A focus group discussion with SIHA staff brought to light the roles of women in their diverse hometowns across Sudan. This included women’s major roles in agriculture in North Kordofan, charcoal making and hut building in the Blue Nile state, and brick making, tree

21 Näre, L., & Akhtar, P. (2014), Gendered mobilities and social change—An introduction to the Special Issue on Gender, Mobility, Women’s Studies International Forum

22 Ibid. pg. 5

cutting, construction and cattle herding in Nyala, Darfur.23 The conversation uncovered the array of duties carried out by women that necessitate considerable physical strength. Within the environmental, legal and social landscape of Khartoum, men take on the role of the breadwinner while women are the primary caregivers. Women are pushed into the private sphere while men are in the public. As previously stated, women’s participation in activities that require significant physical activity and presence in the public sphere are met with defiance. In contrast, the range of jobs managed by women of diverse backgrounds in their day-to-day lives across Sudan ultimately reveals that gender norms with respect to activities are not uniform across cultures. Other factors such as the socio-cultural element and urban vs. rural environments dictate what roles are assigned to which gender.

In terms of employment, the rigid social and legal fabric of Khartoum is unwelcoming to the norms and skills of internally displaced women from other regions. It is important, however, not to assume that women’s involvement in diverse activities across Sudan translates into their having decision-making power or being paid for their labor. Focus here is placed on the gendered norms and how they conflict with those of the urban center, particularly in relation to conceivable paid employment. Displaced women readjust their definition of gender as they move; gender relations are altered and indicators of shame/modesty are shuffled.

The desire to create a monolithic Islamist culture based on the state’s interpretations of norms is rooted in class and regional hierarchies. For decades, the Southern and Western regions of Sudan have been marginalized under the larger forces of Arabization and Islamization. As a result, there is little room in the urban center for the traditions and cultural influences of other regions of Sudan. Many respondents alluded to this point as vocational trainer, Jamal, observed:

“In other parts of Sudan, women working outside of the home is very accepted particularly in the Western regions. It is only here, in Khartoum, that things are considered inappropriate. The culture here just doesn’t allow it…misinterpretations of Sharia law are entangled with this.”24

Given that women’s public presence and physical activity is morally, legally and socially policed in Khartoum, if women engage in activities outside of the norm, they are subject to social

23 FGD, Khartoum, SIHA Staff, February 6th, 2020 24 FGD, Khartoum, Vocational Training Staff, January 7th 2020