Feminist initiatives in Sudan

Feminist Initiatives in Sudan –

A story of resilience, resistance, and solidarity

DISCLAIMER

This publication was produced through the generous support of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) with funding from The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).

The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policies or positions of International IDEA, SIDA or their affiliated organizations.

Research complication: Samuel Hall Consultancy Firm

Cover photo: Faiz Abubaker

Design: Namanda Diana

Published: August 2024

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior approval in writing from The Research Team and SIHA Network. This Paper is not a legally binding document. It is a collaborative informational and assessment document and does not reflect the views of any of the contributing partners in all its contents. Any errors are the sole responsibility of the authors.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This research paper, titled “Feminist initiatives in Sudan – A story of resilience, resistance, and solidarity,” was made possible through the generous support of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) and funding from The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). We are grateful for their unwavering commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment in Sudan.

The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policies or positions of International IDEA or its affiliated organizations.

We extend our special appreciation to team of researchers at Samuel Hall: Lisa Pfister, Andhira Yousif Kara, Juliette Samman, Joan Mwangi, and Anais Gautier, including National Researcher Khadiga Mustafa, and note-taker Hamad Musa. The report was peer-reviewed by Hervé Nicolle.

We wish to thank Crystal Murphy for her reviewing and editing expertise, and the study participants—Sudanese women—who took the time to provide learnings on their experiences during the Sudan conflict.

Our heartfelt thanks also go to the SIHA Sudan staff for their coordination of the project and guidance throughout the process, and the SIHA Regional Team, including Hala Al-Karib, the Regional Director; Faizat Badmus-Busari, Regional Programme Manager; Sandra Nassali, Regional Advocacy and Communications Coordinator; and Faith James, Regional Research and Advocacy Officer for their significant contributions and support.

This report should be cited as follows:

The Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA) Network, “Feminist Initiatives in Sudan – A story of resilience, resistance, and solidarity”, 2024.

GLOSSARY

Gender

Social justice

Gender justice

Feminism

“Gender refers to the characteristics of women, men, girls and boys that are socially constructed. This includes norms, behaviours and roles associated with being a woman, man, girl or boy, as well as relationships with each other. As a social construct, gender varies from society to society and can change over time. Gender is hierarchical and produces inequalities that intersect with other social and economic inequalities.”1

The equal distribution of goods and bads added to (and relied upon) the recognition of the different groups, which should be translated into terms of political participation and increased capabilities.2 Justice is not a binary matter; it can be measured in terms of degrees of justice.3

The “full equality and equity between women, men, LGBTQIA+, and non-binary people in all spheres of life, resulting in women jointly, and on an equal basis with men, defining and shaping the policies, structures and decisions that affect their lives and society as a whole.”4

The concept of feminism covers the history of different struggles and has been interpreted in a more comprehensive and complex way as its understanding has evolved. Feminism can be broadly defined as a movement to end sexism, gender exploitation and oppression and to achieve full gender equality in law and practice. Historically, feminism focused on the oppression of white women and assumed a universal notion of womanhood that excluded the lived experiences of racialised and Global South women. The concept of intersectionality (Crenshaw 1989)5 argues that traditional feminist frameworks often failed to consider how different forms of oppression can overlap and magnify each other (race, gender, ethnicity, sex, age, etc.). Decolonial feminism6 takes this a step further, acknowledging the historical power structures of colonialism and imperialism. It critiques Western-centric solutions and seeks to build feminist movements inclusive of diverse experiences and histories. In this report, we acknowledge that the struggle for equality between men and women must always be intersectional and complemented by the struggle against all regimes of exploitation and domination in a society (beyond a mere focus on women), including legacies of colonialism and imperialism, as they are interrelated. We further acknowledge that limited engagement with ideas, theories, or practices from the lived experiences of Global South women in global feminist thought persists.

1 World Health Organization, “Gender and Health,” World Health Organization, 2019

2 David Schlosberg, Defining Environmental Justice : Theories, Movements and Nature (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007).

3 Amartya Sen, The Idea of Justice (Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2009).

4 Oxfam International, Gender justice and women’s rights.

5 Crenshaw K (1989) Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics. The University of Chicago Legal Forum 140.

6 Vergès, Françoise, et al. A Decolonial Feminism. Pluto Press, 2021.

Feminist initiatives

Resilience

Peacebuilding

Initiatives, i.e. collective, network, platform, campaign, movement or organisation, registered or unregistered, whose aim is equality among all genders. Feminist initiatives’ activities can fall under advocacy/awareness raising, emergency assistance and protection, development, economic empowerment, etc. In this report, we will speak of grassroots women’s groups, feminist initiatives, and women-led organisations; and/or women’s groups, interchangeably with feminist initiatives.

Ability to recover from stress or shock either by returning to a previous state or adapting and creating a new one. In peacebuilding, resilience can refer to (1) the ability to maintain a positive peace; (2) the ability to manage the process of transforming a negative peace into a positive peace; (3) the quest for status quo ante bellum; and/or (4) a transformation.7

“A multidimensional range of measures to reduce the risk of a lapse or relapse into conflict by addressing both the causes and consequences of conflict and strengthen national capacities at all levels for conflict management in order to lay the foundations for sustainable peace and developments.”8

7 Ken Menkhaus, ‘Making Sense of Resilience in Peacebuilding Contexts: Approaches, Applications, Implications’, Geneva Peacebuilding Platform, no. 6 (2013).

8 UNICEF, “Conflict Sensitivity and Peacebuilding in UNICEF: Technical Note,” (UNICEF, n.d.).

LIST OF ACRONYMS

FGD Focus Group Discussion

GBV Gender-Based Violence

HC Host Community

IDP Internally Displaced Person

KII Key Informant Interview

NGO Non-Governmental Organisation

RSF Rapid Support Forces

RQ Research question

SAF Sudanese Armed Forces

SGBV Sexual- and Gender-Based Violence

SIHA Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa

SLR Systematic Literature Review

SWU Sudanese Women’s Union

UN United Nations

WHRD Women Human Rights Defenders

WLOs Women-Led Organisation

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This paper is an outcome of the “Feminist Peace for Sudan” project which aims to amplify the voices and contributions of grassroots women’s groups in Sudan during the conflict, highlighting their resilience, resistance to violence, and efforts towards peacebuilding. The project also seeks to document feminist initiatives, research the conflict’s economic impact on women, and advocate for gender-inclusive peace processes.

The Sudan conflict has exacerbated human rights violations, including widespread Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV), disproportionately affecting women and girls. Despite these challenges, feminist networks and grassroots women’s groups have become crucial advocates for peace and social justice.

This research aims to document and analyze the role of these feminist initiatives. It seeks to capture the lived experiences of women involved in grassroots efforts, focusing on their responses to violence, displacement, and other impacts of the conflict. Additionally, the study examines how these groups have organized to address the needs of women and girls, resisted intimidation, and contributed to building counternarratives about war and peace.

Methodologically, the research uses a qualitative approach, combining remote interviews with grassroots women’s groups and feminist organizations, and in-person focus group discussions with displaced and host community women in various regions of Sudan. Data collection also includes a thorough literature review. This approach ensures a comprehensive understanding of the diverse experiences and contributions of these groups.

Key findings indicate that Sudanese women and their initiatives play a critical role in advocating for a gender-inclusive peace process. Despite significant challenges, these groups have shown remarkable resilience and continue to provide humanitarian aid, build solidarity, and forge transformative partnerships. Their work extends beyond immediate relief, contributing to long-term societal change by empowering women and challenging oppressive norms.

The research also identifies barriers, including exclusion from decision-making processes and inadequate funding. Recognizing and supporting these grassroots efforts is vital for ensuring effective, localized responses to the conflict. Investing in feminist initiatives not only amplifies their impact but also enhances their ability to foster resilience and drive meaningful change within their communities.

1.1. OBJECTIVES

This paper examines how grassroots women’s groups in Sudan navigate and respond to the challenges of conflict while simultaneously contributing to peacebuilding, social justice, and gender equality. Women are disproportionately affected by the conflict, facing increased violence, displacement, and limited access to healthcare. Despite these challenges, they play a significant role in Sudanese society and the humanitarian response during the war. The paper centers on the voices and narratives of Sudanese women in feminist initiatives to address four objectives::

Document and amplify the voices of grassroots women's groups in Sudan during the conflict

Explore women’s contributions to peacebuilding, social justice, and gender equality

Highlight women’s resilience, and resistance to violence, militarisation and intimidation

Contribute to advocacy strategies for gender-inclusive peace processes

This research used a qualitative-driven methodology based on a storytelling approach. Primary data was collected through 13 remote key informant interviews with grassroots women’s groups, feminist initiatives and women-led organisations (WLOs) (referred to as ‘feminist initiatives’) covering the following regions:

• Red Sea (Port Sudan)

Kassala (Kassala)

• Gedaref (Gedaref)

Sennar (Sennar)

• Blue Nile (Ed-Damazin)

Northern Kordofan (El Obeid)

• South Kordofan (Kadogli)

West Darfur (El Geneina)

• South Darfur (Nyala

In addition, three in-person focus group discussions with displaced and host community women were conducted in Port Sudan, Kassala and Sennar. The data was triangulated and completed with desk-based evidence.

1.2. KEY FINDINGS: 5 MESSAGES

1. Feminist initiatives and women activists in Sudan have been at the forefront of the revolution and advocating for peace for years.

Women have mobilised and organised to demand a gender-inclusive peace process and meaningful participation, going beyond a focus on “women’s issues” and as shown in our interviews, fighting for a peaceful future and liberation for all Sudanese. They understand the multifaceted nature of the conflict and call for a more inclusive society by tackling the root causes of oppression, inequality, and economic disparities.

2. FEMINIST INITIATIVES ARE TARGETED TWICE

The war affects women as individuals who face violence, displacement, and limited access to services, but it also affects them as activists. Women activists are particularly targeted, and the initiatives must manage intimidations, attacks, and risks of closure. Yet, women are proving their ability to resist and adapt to continue supporting others. By resisting intimidation, they showcase the steadfastness and resilience of their activism in front of violence and displacement.

3. WOMEN IN SUDAN PLAY AN INVALUABLE ROLE

Through their feminist initiatives and activism, they became the local actor capable of providing humanitarian services, building transformative partnerships, and developing networks and collective that respond to women’s short- and long-term needs. The invaluable role of Sudanese women is embedded in their collective solidarity. Sudanese women organise not only in spite of the circumstances but also because of them. Stories of women activists show that the desire to support each other, as well as their own need to keep going, are key to becoming activists or continuing their activism. This solidarity is a driver and a resource to help them overcome obstacles, including through the support of other activists. Feminist initiatives strengthen one another in their capacities to respond to the needs and overcome obstacles.

FEMINIST INITIATIVES PLAY A LIFE-SAVING AND LONG-TERM ROLE IN SUDAN

Feminist initiatives empower women through their activities, resilience, and solidarity; beyond this, they help restore dignity for survivors of SGBV and build counter-narratives to fight violence against and exclusion of women. They contribute to developing women’s economic, social and political role thus transforming society in the long run. Respondents in focus group discussions highlight feminist initiatives’ role in shifting narratives so that women: “are not just viewed as victims but as persons with their own voices” and are “improv[ing] the situation of every woman in Sudan, primarily by advocating for their rights in spaces where they are not represented”

5. RECOGNISING WOMEN AND WOMEN’S GROUPS IS NECESSARY FOR LOCALISATION

While progress has been made, feminist initiatives are still too often excluded from decision-making, funding or used as tokens of representation due to harmful narratives and norms but also due to very practical barriers, including funding grassroots women’s groups. It is essential to recognise and showcase women’s activism as it contributes to

localised, timely and impactful responses. There is a multiplier effect in investing in feminist initiatives: as they have proven their own resilience, they build the resilience of other women and develop solidarity that pushes women to become activist themselves, multiplying the impact on collective resilience.

1.3. Recommendations for the inclusion of Feminist Initiatives

In line with a localisation agenda and in a context where humanitarian assistance is almost non-existent in many parts of the country, humanitarian actors and donors need to recognise feminist initiatives as local actors. Grassroots women’s organisations are better placed to identify needs and adapt solutions as they are already at the forefront of providing services during the war in Sudan. Recognition of their role is necessary for humanitarian actors and donors to take concrete action to support them.

1. INTRODUCTION

Women are leaders in Sudanese society and the humanitarian response during the war. Women’s initiatives have been crucial before and during the war, making a significant impact on peace-building efforts, resilience, women’s rights, and empowerment. Solidarity amongst women has been cutting across multiple states in Sudan as women demonstrated resilience and leadership while responding to the conditions and immediate challenges around them9. Women have also been leading the humanitarian response despite being disproportionately affected since the beginning of the conflict by increased levels of SGBV, ethnic violence, forced labour, kidnappings and forced disappearance, displacement, and limited access to healthcare services such as maternity or reproductive health services.10

This report centres on the narratives of Sudanese women in feminist initiatives. The struggle for equality between men and women must always be intersectional and complemented by the struggle against all regimes of exploitation and domination in a society, including the legacy of colonialism and imperialism, as they are interrelated.

1.4. Contextual background

The war in Sudan and its impact on women

The multiple interlinked crises in Sudan have resulted from decades of violence and patriarchal structures that exclude and oppress women. In April 2023, violence erupting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF)11 and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) rocked Khartoum with a conflict which soon spread to other states of Sudan. This erupted in a context of political tensions and instability. The 2019 Sudanese revolution that led to the fall of Omar al-Bashir’s rule translated into significant political changes. The Sudan Constitutional Declaration was signed in August 2019 and outlined how power was to be shared between military and civilian representatives: an army would rule for the first 21 months, after which “power was to be handed over to a civilian government for the next 18 months to allow a transition to a more democratic system”. 12 However, this did not happen, and the transitional government was dismantled in October 2021. Since then, Sudan has been operating under a de facto military government as the country currently lacks any elected executive or legislative body to run it.13

The war in Sudan disproportionately impacts women14 and exacerbates gender inequalities15 with:

Widespread sexual and gender based violence (SGBV), primarily affecting women and girls, and categorised as a war crime.16 17Rape and SGBV have been used as tools and weapons of war to instil fear and exert control by terrorising and demoralising communities as well as by ‘punishing’ communities for autonomous

9 UN Women, “Women Are Leading the Humanitarian Response in Sudan”

10 Hala Al-Karib, “Violent Conflict in Sudan Has Impacted on Nearly Every Aspect of Women’s Lives,” Inter Press Service, October 30, 2023

11 Reem Abbas. “Women on the Frontlines: A Feminist Perspective on the Ongoing Crisis in Sudan.” WILPF International , April 26, 2023. https://www.wilpf.org/women-on-the-frontlines-a-feminist-perspective-on-the-ongoing-crisis-in-sudan/.

12 Migration Data Portal, “What Is the Crisis?,” Migration Data Portal, n.d.

13 Migration Data Portal, “What Is the Crisis?,” Migration Data Portal, n.d.

14 Abbas. “Women on the Frontlines” April 26, 2023.

15 UN Women, “Women Are Leading the Humanitarian Response in Sudan,” UN Women – Headquarters, July 5, 2023.

16 UNICEF, Sudan: Top un officials sound alarm at spike In violence against women and girls, July 5 2023.

17 Al Jazeera, UN official warns of possible war crimes, rape as a weapon in Sudan, March 1, 2024.

activities. 18Women with disabilities and those who were already facing displacement are at particularly high risk of GBV, insecurity and other human rights violations.19

• Conflict-induced displacement increases women’s vulnerability and exposure to heightened risk of trafficking, loss of property and assets, violence, exploitation and other forms of abuse. 20Sudan has been a primary transit destination for migrants, with reports of traffickers abducting them for ransom21 UN experts reported increased cases of abductions and trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation and sexual slavery during the conflict.22 Internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugee women living in overcrowded reception centres with low security are at increased risk of GBV; additionally, access to essential health services and hygiene products is reduced, leaving those with disabilities or high medical needs, including maternity, greatly affected.23

• Devastating impacts on women’s economic empowerment, especially in cities, increase in SGBV, displacement, and the destruction of urban infrastructure have undermined women’s ability to secure and rely on their income, increasing poverty and food insecurity amongst women-led households in Sudan.24

• Breakdown of structures and systems that disproportionately affect women and further increase gender disparities. Access to healthcare becomes increasingly difficult in conflict-affected areas, as nearly 80% of hospitals in these areas are no longer functioning.25 Women are left without essential maternal and reproductive health services.26 Limited access to education is also highly gendered, with girls facing increased barriers to remaining in school due to immediate safety concerns, economic constraints and societal/cultural norms; the conflict has also increased the practice of forced and child marriages, which further deprive girls of education.27

Sudanese women’s mobilisation and solidarity respond to these challenges, which is not new. Reports show that women have been active during conflicts and for social change and solidarity efforts in Sudan, often under the radar while navigating social pressure, gendered roles and their own exposure to violence.

Sudanese history is rife with feminist initiatives to learn from, especially in times of war. Women’s activism and steadfastness have helped communities adapt to and recover from crises. For instance, women in the Nuba mountains affected by active war in the 2010s were often protecting themselves, their children, their homes and even their food supply, all whilst navigating traditional gendered roles. Duties traditionally requested from women, such as care work, became more difficult due to the scarcity that resulted from the war, and gender inequality in accessing education was exacerbated.28

18 Mazurana, Dyan, and Susan McKay. “Girls in Fighting Forces in Northern Uganda, Sierra Leone, and Mozambique: Policy and Program Recommendations.” ResearchGate, 2003.

19 ACAPS Analysis Hub, “SUDAN Impact of the War on Women and Girls,” ACAPS Analysis Hub (ACAPS, January 23, 2024)

20 OHCHR, “Sudan: Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation and Recruitment of Children on the Rise, Warn UN Experts ,” OHCHR, March 22, 2024.

21 United UNODC ROMENA, “Sudan Is Responding to the Challenges of Human Trafficking in the Country,” United Nations : UNODC ROMENA, July 7, 2021.

22 OHCHR, “Sudan: Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation and Recruitment of Children” March 22, 2024

23 Light of the World International, “Sudan Conflict: The Impact on Refugees with Disabilities,” Light for the World International, June 19, 2023

24 Light of the World International, “Sudan Conflict: The Impact on Refugees with Disabilities,” Light for the World International, June 19, 2023

25 Abbas. “Women on the Frontlines” April 26, 2023.

26 UNFPA, “Sudan,” United Nations Population Fund: SUDAN, April 1, 2024, https://www.unfpa.org/sudan.

27 UNFPA, “Sudan,” April 1, 2024

28 SIHA, “Gender under Bombardment,” SIHA, March 1, 2016.

Yet, grassroots women’s movements have provided skills training and education to young girls, including refugees.29

Another key example of women’s activism is one of the 2019 protests, led by Sudanese women and youth, which led to the removal of leaders such as Al-Bashir and later Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. Sudanese women public figures such as Alaa Salah emerged, “whose voice was one of many calling for freedom, peace, and justice”.30 Despite these significant contributions and a representation of 40% of women among negotiators for the constitutional declaration that followed in 2019, this recognition didn’t last. Women remained sidelined in formal peace negotiations such as the Juba agreement (2020), where their representation was noticeably low – around 10%. However, female civil society leaders have actively supported the peace effort by advocating for community priorities, providing relevant information to people in negotiating positions and expanding the agenda to include issues that will help with long-term peace.31

Since the beginning of the war in April 2023, women-led organisations and grassroots movements have been mobilising communities, supporting each other and amplifying women’s voices to address the immediate needs of women but also to push for change and meaningful participation in decision-making positions.32 Women actively participate in peace initiatives, humanitarian efforts, and civil society organisations. They led groups advocating for peace, documenting violations, and monitoring human rights abuses.33 The majority of these movements operate at local levels, bringing women from diverse backgrounds together to address the conflict and advocate for societal change by challenging patriarchal norms and calling for peace and gender equality.34 They, however, face multiple challenges, and one of the main challenges remaining is underfunding. 35

Feminist initiatives demonstrate that women are agents of change. They have had significant, prominent roles as mediators and peacebuilders during the conflict, bringing unique perspectives, experiences and insights to the mediation effort. Feminist initiatives have also defied societal expectations and gender norms by advocating for women in decision-making.

Women’s activism, before and during the current conflict, has contributed not only to addressing the immediate humanitarian needs but also to setting up long-term transformation and foundations for peace and gender equality in Sudan:36

(1) Gender equality: Feminist initiatives campaigned for numerous societal changes such as more gender-equal legal reform, education and healthcare, including raising awareness on women and girl issues such as FGM, GBV, and child marriages. During the war, efforts to campaign for these issues in addition to peace increased; as the conflict deteriorated, society and women bore the brunt of the effects.

(2) Peacebuilding: The effect of women’s participation through their grassroots efforts also included calling for an end to authoritarian rule and pressure to establish civilian rule, broadening the agenda by encouraging

29 SIHA, “Outcome Report: Feminist Peace & Solidarity Conference on Sudan,” SIHA (SIHA, February 2024)

30 Hala Al-Karib, “Violent Conflict in Sudan Has Impacted on Nearly Every Aspect of Women’s Lives,” Inter Press Service, October 30, 2023.

31 Council on Foreign Affairs, “Sudan Case Study” 2024

32 Abbas. “Women on the Frontlines” April 26, 2023.

33 ACAPS Analysis Hub, “SUDAN Impact of the War on Women and Girls,” ACAPS Analysis Hub (ACAPS, January 23, 2024),

34 Sarah O. Nugdalla, “The Revolution Continues: Sudanese Women’s Activism,” Gender, Protests and Political Change in Africa, 2020, 107–30

35 SIHA, “Outcome Report: Feminist Peace & Solidarity Conference on Sudan,” SIHA (SIHA, February 2024)

36 Sarah O. Nugdalla, “The Revolution Continues: Sudanese Women’s Activism,” Gender, Protests and Political Change in Africa, 2020, 107–30,

negotiators to address more issues that advance long-term stability.37 Women advocate for unity and work together across religious, ethnic, and regional divides. They act as honest brokers and assess critical information due to their positionality and tendency to have strong relationships with community networks, allowing women to broker local deals amongst these communities.38

(3) Legal change: Women Human Right Defenders (WHRDs) and Women’s Rights Groups worked to address gender inequality and discrimination by challenging discriminatory laws and practices, as well as reporting on Human Rights abuses, advocating for legal reforms, and raising awareness.

In this context of multiple feminist initiatives that emerged in different moments of Sudan’s history and with various formats and purposes, the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA) is crucial in strengthening locally based and country-wide women’s groups. SIHA is a women’s rights network that aims to change narratives that portray women as passive victims and instead build on the ‘collective power of African women’ to reach social justice through ‘fundamental political transformation’39

It has been present in Sudan since 2002, with local offices across the country. SIHA has been working with grassroots women and women’s groups and networks, and their activities in Sudan include (1) advocacy, research and publications; (2) capacity-building of women’s groups; and (3) protection and response.40 Since the beginning of the conflict, SIHA has been a strong voice for women’s agency. It has fostered a country-wide network of women’s peace collectives, in addition to supporting solutions to women’s needs.

SIHA currently implements the “Feminist Peace for Sudan” project, which aims to amplify the voices and contributions of grassroots women’s groups in Sudan during the conflict, highlighting their resilience, resistance to violence, and efforts towards peacebuilding. Through various activities and outputs, the project aims to document feminist initiatives, research the conflict’s economic impact on women, and advocate for gender-inclusive peace processes.

3.1. Research framework

Research objectives & questions

As part of the “Feminist Peace for Sudan” project, SIHA mandated Samuel Hall to conduct research focusing on documenting feminist initiatives during the conflict in Sudan, highlighting women’s dedication to supporting each other, the means by which they organise and role of grassroots women’s groups in transforming society, and their stories of resilience. The study has four specific objectives:

Figure 1. The study’s four specific objectives

Document and amplify the voices of grassroots women's groups in Sudan during the conflict

Explore women’s contributions to peacebuilding, social justice, and gender equality

Highlight women’s resilience, and resistance to violence, militarisation and intimidation

37 Council on Foreign Affairs, “Sudan Case Study” Council on Foreign Relations, 2024.

38 Council on Foreign Affairs, “Sudan Case Study”

39 SIHA, “Our Story | Women’s Rights,” SIHA, n.d.

40 SIHA, Sudan

Contribute to advocacy strategies for gender-inclusive peace processes

This research collected the voices of women and women groups to answer the following research question: How do grassroots women’s groups in Sudan navigate and respond to the challenges of conflict while simultaneously contributing to peacebuilding, social justice, and gender equality?

This research question has been disaggregated into five sub-questions addressing the themes of mobilisation, resistance, counter-narratives, solidarity, and recommendations.

Table 1. Research framework

Theme

Mobilisation

Resistance

Counter-narratives

Solidarity

Outlining Recommendations

Sub-question

How did grassroots women’s organisations mobilise to address the needs of girls and women amidst conflict?

How did grassroots women’s groups resist intimidation, violence, and militarization?

How did grassroots women’s groups contribute to producing counternarratives about war and peace?

How did these groups extend solidarity to each other and other groups?

How can regional and international actors in the development and humanitarian space better support the efforts of grassroots women’s groups in Sudan and advocacy strategies for gender-inclusive peace processes?

Data collection and sampling

• Red Sea (Port Sudan)

• Kassala (Kassala)

• Gedaref (Gedaref) Sennar (Sennar)

• Blue Nile (Ed-Damazin)

Northern Kordofan (El Obeid)

• South Kordofan (Kadogli)

• West Darfur (El Geneina)

• South Darfur (Nyala)

Limitations

The main limitation of the research is temporality of the conflict which is constantly changing the situation on the ground and the experiences of feminist initiatives. While the findings are based on data collected in May 2024, the recommendations and conclusions put forward remain valid.

Another limitation was the scope of the research leading to its inability to comprehensively cover the intersectionality and refugees within Sudan. Further research is needed to understand how intersectional characteristics (such as economic status, education, rural vs urban) shape the ability of women to engage in feminist initiatives and the experiences of women activists.

Box 1. Collecting women’s voices in times of war: Reflexivity in fieldwork

The data collection was conducted by a Sudanese researcher and note-taker, both based in Port-Sudan, with the support of another Sudanese researcher who relocated to Nairobi, Kenya. In the context of Sudan, this data collection had to adapt to constraints - those of our researchers and those of the respondents - in order to conduct conflictsensitive and non-extractive research respectful of the do-no-harm principle.

We believe it is important to reflect on our practices, in line with political reflexivity, which aids in advancing decolonising knowledge by recognising that “the production of knowledge is a political act”.41 Political reflexivity urges researchers to be alert to the broader ramifications of their research to avoid reinforcing power disparities, including objectifying or silencing participants. Most literature on conflict areas does not address the reality of experiencing violence for participants, instead considering them as dehumanised ‘subjects’.42

Our research design aims to highlight and acknowledge less dominant knowledge by collecting women’s voices during the conflict. Recognising the challenges that women face in sharing their stories and being visible and heard, we highlight the challenges our research faced while collecting these crucial voices:

Logistical barriers, such as connectivity issues that affected communication with respondents and team members, illustrate how women can be rendered invisible if no conscious, active effort is made to reach out to them. Indeed, this challenge made it difficult to set up interviews when the mobile connection was unstable. To overcome this and ensure that as many women as possible could be reached, our researchers proposed initiatives such as collecting written stories or exchanging voice notes. While these are not traditional research practices, they allowed us to amplify the voices of more women activists.

Security concerns also posed a barrier to in-person data collection; researchers used low-profile and/or safe spaces to conduct these interviews, to ensure the safety of both participants and researchers.

The war also impacted respondents’ availability and sometimes readiness to share their stories, as women activists themselves can be affected by violence and displacement; some respondents had changed contact information after being relocated, while others were not available due to the context. Violence and displacement also affected some respondents’ readiness to talk about their experiences. It was thus essential to take a sensible approach and continuously apply the do-no-harm principle.

41 Samer, Abdelnour, and Mai Abu Moghli. “Researching Violent Contexts: A Call for Political Reflexivity.” Organization O (July 15, 2021).

42 Ibid

2. WOMEN ORGANISING IN TIMES OF WAR: HOW DO SUDANESE WOMEN MOBILISE, ADAPT TO BARRIERS

AND RESIST INTIMIDATION?

Sudanese women show remarkable resilience in resisting and adapting to the context of the war in order to support one another. While women are at the forefront of violence, they organise formally or informally to provide support to other women, focusing on the most affected groups such as displaced or disabled women and girls. In this section, we showcase their stories of activism and resilience and look at how they organise - and the challenges they face and overcome to continue feminist initiatives during the war.

2.1 Women supporting women during the war: Stories of resilience

This section focuses on the experiences of women affected by the war and stories of women activists. The war in Sudan has affected women most, impacting their activism. However, the challenges have also been a push factor for women to support and inspire one another in a spirit of solidarity.

Women at the forefront of violence, affected by the war

Women in Sudan are disproportionately affected by the war in terms of violence, including sexual violence, displacement, and unmet needs, especially related to health. SIHA’s regional director, Hala Al-Karib, explained in an address to the UN Security Council in October 2023 that it “has impacted nearly every aspect of women’s lives” 43 Our research confirms what reports alert on:

Violence targeting women and girls. Reports highlight that SGBV is being used as a tool of war in Sudan to spread terror within communities44, to an extend that could amount to a war crime.45 Respondents confirm that violence specifically targeting women and girls is widespread, discussing the multiple risks they and other women face. This includes sexual violence, forced military recruitment, and what respondents called ‘security violations’. While migration is one of the ways women attempt to protect themselves, women are still at risk during and after displacement, including in shelters.46

Reduced access to services and food: Multiple reports alert that the impact of the war on services and the economy has exacerbated inequalities. Women’ preexisting marginalisation make them particularly affected by this collapse.47 In addition, women’s needs for reproductive and maternal health care services are often left unmet, increasing their vulnerability to diseases and mortality48, in a context where 80% of hospitals stopped functioning in affected areas.49

43 Hala Al-Karib, “Violent Conflict in Sudan Has Impacted on Nearly Every Aspect of Women’s Lives,” Inter Press Service, October 30, 2023

44 UNICEF, Sudan: Top un officials sound alarm at spike In violence against women and girls, July 5 2023

45 Al Jazeera, UN official warns of possible war crimes, rape as a weapon in Sudan, March 1, 2024

46 FGD 2, “Many violations may occur to women in shelter centres. There has not yet been a body in the shelter centres to protect them”, Kassala, 28/05/2024

47 UN News, “Sudan: Attacks Based on Ethnicity May Amount to War Crimes | UN News,” news.un.org, June 13, 2023

48 Abbas. “Women on the Frontlines” April 26, 2023

49 UNFPA, “Sudan,” United Nations Population Fund: SUDAN, April 1, 2024

Respondents confirm that women’s access to basic services, including health and maternal care, was drastically reduced; access to food was also made difficult due to the impact of war on local markets, and the increase in the cost of living.50

Female respondents in an FGD in Kassala shared how experiencing these violations has affected them. They highlighted the psychological impact of this violence, instability and difficulty in responding to one’s primary needs, affect women and girls in particular. Some respondents in an FGD in Kassala in May shared that the war acted like a shock, sometimes immobilising them, that has kept impacting them until today:

“The war is, for me, a major turning point, and the main challenge or first feeling is the instability of the situation.”

I was unable to speak because of the psychological crisis and shock that befell me.”

“At the beginning of the war, I was not normal, as if I was stabbed with a thorn all over my body. I could not sleep, and the only thing that relieved me from suffering was my mother.”51

While displacement is one of the adaptations that many women and girls adopt to survive, it is also a cause of suffering and increased pressure on women. Women and children constitute the majority of the displaced52 and displaced women are exposed to heightened risks.53 Respondents, too, highlight that women are particularly affected by displacement which increases their vulnerability to violence due to the lack of humanitarian response and lack of safety in shelter. In addition to the psychological and psychosocial effects of de-rooting and instability, they also share that displacement has limited women’s access to basic necessities such as food, thus multiplying the difficulty in responding to one’s needs.

Participants highlight the dual nature of displacement, as a coping strategy and as a burden for women. Displaced women and girls are more vulnerable to risks due to their often precarious living conditions, including risks of GBV inside the shelters. They also face additional challenges responding to their needs in areas of relocation that also suffer from the conflict, especially as displaced women have limited to no access to local networks that could have otherwise helped them cope. They accumulate difficulties caused by the context, caused by their displacement, and caused by their gender, which reduces their capacities to respond to each of these challenges. As on female FGD participant in an FGD in Kassala in May shared:

“When we migrated to safe areas, we were surprised to find that they were not safe due to the fear of the war spreading to every part of the country. We also did not find sufficient support for some basic aspects to reduce the psychological pressures that appear.”54

Respondents indicate that displaced women have access to some support from humanitarian actors, including food and shelter. However, one member of such an initiative highlighted that the organisations themselves struggle to prevent security issues within shelters, especially as donors and humanitarian actors can have their hands tied by the country’s regulations and political restrictions. . A respondent in an FGD in Kassala in May stated:

50 KII 7: “The cost of life has increased: It is difficult, a kilo of sugar is three thousand, flour, two thousand and a half”, 30/05/2024

51 The three testimonies are from participants in FGD 2, Kassala, 28/05/2024

52 Hala Al-Karib, “Violent Conflict in Sudan Has Impacted on Nearly Every Aspect of Women’s Lives,” Inter Press Service, October 30, 2023

53 OHCHR, “Sudan: Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation and Recruitment of Children on the Rise, Warn UN Experts ,” OHCHR, March 22, 2024

54 FGD 2, Kassala, 28/05/2024

“We left our homes when our parents lost their source of income, and our children lost the future of their education and other horrific suffering that cannot be counted. We found some support from humanitarian organisations in providing important things, such as food, drink, and a residence.”55

In the face of the violence during war, women find coping or adaptation strategies, often including feminist initiatives. Women highlight that these initiatives can provide services and, in some cases, protection - for the latter, women’s groups affiliated with political groups were noted as better placed to protect women.56

Women activists in the war: Solidarity as a driver

The role of feminist initiatives in helping women cope with the impacts of the war does not stop at the services they can provide. These groups can motivate them to adapt. Additionally, respondents say that becoming activists and volunteers themselves helps them cope. Activism thus also has a healing role for women affected by the conflict, increasing the number, impact and role of feminist initiatives.57 58 Looking at the experience of women activists, we see that care and solidarity are often the starting point to their activism as they seek to support and protect each other. They respond to a gap as traditional aid actors are often unable to access areas and provide the much needed services to women. This solidarity leads to an increase in the impact of feminist initiatives, with the development of solidarity networks that inspire women activists and other women to do more.

While women’s need to cope with their own suffering can be a push factor towards activism, research participants highlighted that the starting point to their activism is care and solidarity. This is illustrated by participants in the FGD in Sennar in May who say they are ”very diligent in offering what we value to women”.59

The desire to help women and resist the violations and suffering caused by the war is a strong driver of women’s activism. This includes women’s desire to respond to their own suffering by joining efforts towards peace and extends to solidarity with other women. Respondents recognise, for instance, the disproportionate suffering of displaced women or women with disabilities, which feeds their activism. Despite their own difficult circumstances, including being displaced themselves, they work towards supporting those with the greatest needs. In addition to emergency response, they also highlight the need for conflict transformation to respond to the suffering of all women in the long run.

Women’s activism comes in a context where traditional humanitarian actors do not always have the capacities or appropriate approaches to respond to the urgent needs of the context. The high needs of their peers, added to the lack of international response, is a factor that pushes women to lead the way by initiating responses. One respondent, returning to her area of origin in South Darfur, formed a collective after the conflict started because of the lack of humanitarian assistance:

55 FGD 2, Kassala, 28/05/2024

56 FGD 2, “Sometimes, when we are afraid of the security situation, we call on parties affiliated with the country’s politics, for example the Women’s Union.”, Kassala, 28/05/2024

57 FGD 2, Kassala, 28/05/2024

58 FGD 1, Port Sudan, 20/05/2024

59 FGD 3, Sennar, 28/05/2024

“This area in which I live [Nyala, Darfur] lacks national and international organisations that provide all types of humanitarian aid: food, drink, shelter, medicine, and clothing. Accordingly, the idea of forming an organisation came. I started to present the organisation as an initiative with the idea, goal, and urgent need to provide assistance due to the long period of war and the lack of income for families in the region, which led to the terrible deterioration of the living, health, educational, and especially security situation.”60

Respondents also highlighted that women inspire each other to become activists, building a positive snowball effect by influencing and motivating each other. FGD participants shared examples of becoming inspired by their peers who continued activism forums or showed resilience in overcoming obstacles, who pushed them to continue activism despite - and because of - the circumstances.61

The emergence of solidarity among women activists who inspire and support each other to adapt strengthen women’s activism, creating organised or spontaneous networks. Networks and collectives are a key level of localisation62 that help small, local actors overcome barriers and develop their capacities, access to funding, visibility, and policy influence.63 This research shows that activists’ individual networking help them unblock funds form larger feminist organisations, access trainings, and in the context of Sudan, adapt to the circumstances through peer support and inspiration.

Indeed, activism that pre-existed the war has had to adapt to new circumstances. Women activists faced suffering themselves but, as highlighted above, refer to activism as a coping mechanism and a way to maintain hope for a better future through peace advocacy. Women’s initiatives’ activities and target groups have evolved, including more emergency response and advocacy. While section 1.3 details further the adaptation that groups have taken, box 2 below highlights stories of activists who share their experiences of activism and of adaptation. They indicate adaptations in terms of activities and in terms of target groups:

• Activities: increased focus on peacebuilding and flexibility to women’s needs; increased challenges in continuing their activities;

• Target groups: increased focus on displaced women and girls, work in shelter.

The following stories are of women who participated in an FGD in Sennar in late May, 2024, and shared their activism experience and how their activities have evolved to adapt to the needs. It doesn’t cover the entirety of women’s activities but rather individual accounts of activism during the war.

60 KII 13, “[There was] a displaced girl who was working at the International University of Africa until she lost her family. [...] She was the one who gave me the motivation to adapt to this disastrous situation”, 10/06/2024

61 FGD 3, Sennar, 28/05/2024

62 HAG and PIANGO (2019) Measuring Localisation: Framework and tools. HAG Intention to impact: localisation of humanitarian action

63 Samuel Hall. The added value of faith actors in localisation, barriers and opportunities in Humanitarian action: Learnings from Afghanistan-Pakistan, Ethiopia-Kenya, Palestine, and Mozambique. Commissioned by Islamic Relief Worldwide, 2024

Box 2. Stories of women activists

“Our association of pioneering women works in the fields that concern women and is concerned with empowering them socially, economically, and politically. During the period of war, we worked to educate women and spread the culture of peace, and we will also do everything that works for women.”

“I am very interested in women’s issues in general, supporting them and empowering them economically, socially, politically and intellectually, training them and qualifying them for their abilities. At the present time, we are working on supporting the special needs of women and young women in shelter centres.”

“Our organisation works to spread awareness and the values of peace and harmony between societies, raise levels of awareness and belief in development and human development, and pay attention to women’s issues in general, health, and reproductive health. Currently, we work in shelter centres and in the centres.”

“I am a member of the women’s football training committee. We worked a full season. In the second season, we were interrupted due to the war. We found it very difficult to form clubs for women, but as much as possible, we were able to create a kindergarten for Sudanese women.”

2.2 Defning feminist initiatives in Sudan

Women activists, pushed by solidarity in the face of the dire situations, organise to support each other. While the section above focuses on solidarity among women and spontaneous networks emerging from it, this section looks at the way in which they organise and define themselves. Regardless of the form it takes, it leads to what we call feminist initiatives throughout this report - designating initiatives that come from women and with an objective to support women in an intersectional manner.

Feminist initiatives vary across contexts: the conversation on definition needs to be localised. Feminist initiatives can be found across the country, both despite and because of the dire conditions and the risks they face in some regions. However, regions are unequally affected leading women’s organising to evolve. In Darfur and Nuba mountains, our data shows more displacement of feminist initiatives’ leaders from these regions - but also a transnational format of organisation and solidarity, with women activists either continuing their activities in displacement or returning (permanently or temporarily), continuing or re-starting feminist initiatives. In Khartoum, many initiatives that existed before the war either ceased their activities or followed the displacement of populations and adapted their activities to it. Finally, we observe an increased number of feminist initiatives in East Sudan, including many that were created to respond to the needs of displaced women who moved to the same regions.

Not all initiatives self-identify as feminist. The question of the organisation’s selfidentification is also key. Can an initiative be defined as feminist if it does not identify as such? Research participants noted that many initiatives in Sudan do not define themselves as feminist. Some participants consider such initiatives feminist because of “how they fight for women in the community” as shared by a FGD participant in Port Sudan.64 However, others do not qualify these groups as feminist, considering that the reason they do not self-identify as such is that they are influenced by customs and

traditions that can restrict other women, as this respondent in an FGD in Sennar shared:

“We are not all feminist societies, but rather, there are women’s societies that are still restricted by their customs, traditions, and ideas. This means that they are at a stage where they may prevent their sisters from mingling in feminist societies.”65

The definition of feminism and female struggle differs from one culture to another and evolutions within the social structure can change the struggle’s objectives, priorities or forms. This aligns with literature on decolonial feminism which proposes to build movements that are inclusive of diverse experiences and histories.66 This nuance informs the discussion between the two opinions above. As one participant in an FGD in Kassala in May shared:

“The feminist group is an idea for the female struggle, but it differs from culture to culture. For example, changing government decisions and family decisions affect the movement.”67

In their own words: The purpose of feminist initiatives

In this section, we look at what feminism and feminist initiatives mean for women in Sudan and what forms these initiatives take. Research participants define feminist initiatives primarily based on the activities the initiative conducts and their objectives to positively impact women. A feminist initiative is thus defined as an initiative that advocates for women, responds to women’s issues and needs, and/or addresses GBV in particular.

Advocating for gender justice and empowerment of women: The first type of activity that makes an organisation feminist in the eyes of women is their role in advocating for women’s rights, including in spheres where they traditionally struggle to access them. Respondents highlight feminist initiatives’ role in shifting narratives so that women “are not just viewed as victims but as persons with their own voices”68 and in “improv[ing] the situation of every woman in Sudan, primarily by advocating for their rights in spaces where they are not represented” 69 This includes advocating for women’s political and civic participation, including in the peace process.

Establishing solutions focused on issues of women to improve their situation: respondents also consider initiatives as feminist when they contribute to tackling women-specific issues, here not through advocacy but by responding to everyday needs and rights, ultimately empowering women. Many initiatives born in the war focus on responding to the emergency needs of women in the absence of services due to the war, including health and energy. Feminist initiatives also focus on women’s economic and social empowerment: “We are a feminist organisation because we work on women’s issues: the economic and social rights of women” 70

Addressing women’s protection issues and mobilising women to prevent GBV: While this activity can take the form of the two first categories, participants specifically highlighted the focus on GBV as a trait of feminist initiatives. This activity is twofold: first, it’s about addressing women’s protection issues, including providing access to safe shelter to survivors and other women and girls at risk of violence; second, it entails mobilising women and conducting advocacy to prevent GBV with the whole society.

65 FGD 3, Sennar, 28/05/2024

66 Vergès, Françoise, et al. A Decolonial Feminism. Pluto Press, 2021.

67 FGD 2, Kassala, 28/05/2024

68 KII 2, 28/05/2024

69 KII 4, 27/05/2024

70 KII 12, 27/05/2024

While most women interviewed focused on the activities to define feminist initiatives, one respondent also highlighted the staff’s gender as a criterion adding to their feminist identity. The vision they have of women as agents of change is also mentioned by this key informant:

“Our organisation is feminist because we are focused on the issues of women and the establishment of solutions for these challenges. … We also have a higher female staff ratio than male staff. At our organisation, we believe that women have the power to change the current situation in Sudan because they have a more inclusive perspective of the community and the effect of conflict in the community.”71

Adopting an intersectional approach to feminism in women’s initiatives: Many feminist initiatives in this research described adopting an intersectional approach by recognising that some groups of women and girls have heightened needs and by providing support tailored to their specific needs. Most research participants pointed out that their initiative targets displaced women and girls because of their specific struggles and needs; in Sennar, several FGD participants were part of initiatives that target women and girls with disabilities. A respondent also indicated working with and representing different tribes of Sudan:

“When we worked in the shelters during the Week of Peace, we had representatives from all the tribes of Sudan. We reject racism, meaning that as women we are as one in the shapes, colours and all races.”

Women organising to support their community, at their scale, adopt in practice an intersectional approach to feminism that recognises the unequal exposure and support that specific groups get, and decide to tackle this through their initiatives.

Feminist initiatives cover various forms of mobilisation

Feminist initiatives, in addition to offering various activities and approaches to feminism, also take different forms. Among the initiatives that our research participants spoke about, we found different profiles that include:

• Formal and informal/spontaneous initiatives.

• Registered and unregistered initiatives.

• Individual actions, collectives, and organisations.

• Initiatives that define themselves as feminist and that do not.

• Initiatives that existed before the war and have continued their operation stopped and/or were re-initiated later on, as well as initiatives that emerged after the war.

Research participants share three types of initiatives in particular; these types can gather different profiles in the list above but present specific characteristics:

1. Individual and collective spontaneous initiatives: The research pointed to individual initiatives such as raising funds for women in the area of origin to facilitate their migration and women rallying without a formal organisation to support other women belonging to most affected groups such as IPDs or GBV survivors. These initiatives are not necessarily formalised into an organisation and can be categorised as ‘self-help initiatives’ whereby women support each other spontaneously as shared by these two key informants:

“One respondent, after being displaced, was still working to facilitate, mobilise, and support women in the affected area from which she was displaced, to transfer money to them to feed their children and help them relocate when they don’t have money. There aren’t many funds to assist the movement itself; it’s a personal responsibility, and no organisation can facilitate this.”72

“Women came to me here and said they had daughters who needed sanitary pads. I made a video with them and sent it to SIHA, and through the video, they sent 6 million Sudanese pounds.”73

2. Registered or unregistered collectives or organisations that provide services to women and girls, including women and girls with specific needs, such as women with disabilities, displaced women and girls, and GBV survivors. Many of these initiatives were created after the beginning of the war at the initiative of women of concern. An example discussed by FGD participants in Kassala is the emergency rooms formed in response to the war to provide health services (including sexual and reproductive health services) to displaced women and GBV survivors, and coordinates with shelters to provide their services:

“I am speaking as part of the emergency rooms that were formed to reduce the impact of the war on the displaced. [...] After the shelter centres were opened, each of our rooms collected information from the person in need, to be monitored. I was the room’s representative in the shelter centre committee.”74

3. Registered or unregistered collectives or organisations that advocate for the rights or representations of women and girls: These include initiatives that raise awareness among women and girls to prevent or build their capacities to respond to GBV; build their resilience and economic autonomy; advocate in national, regional and international fora to include women and girls in decision making; document violations against women and girls. Many existed before the war, and for the most formalised of them, they carried the voices of women to regional fora and peace talks:

“We represent the voice of the Sudanese women in regional and international spaces such as the African Union. We also participate in peace negotiations such as the Darfur Peace Process as a voice for the Sudanese women.”75

1.3 Adaptations and resistance of feminist initiatives

Feminist activists in Sudan resist being twice a target - as a woman and as a member of feminist initiatives - to keep supporting other women – in the face of war. This section reviews the challenges and risks faced by feminist initiatives and their activities during the war, and the forms of adaptation to address these.

Challenges and risks faced by feminist initiatives during the war

Feminist initiatives face two types of challenges and risks in Sudan: contextual challenges or risks caused by the war and affecting them as a byproduct and targeted challenges or risks that they face because of being feminist initiatives. The distinction is not always as clear because the war disproportionately affects women and girls, thus increasing the impact on feminist initiatives even if they are not specifically targeted.

72 Note from the field, Samuel Hall National Researcher, 07/06/2024

73 KII 7, 30/5/2024

74 FGD 2, Kassala, 28/05/2024

75 KII 2, 28/05/2024

As women and as women activists, members of feminist initiatives are twice exposed to violence. Data shows that they are at risk of arrest, violence, stigma, and sexual violence. Indeed, respondents reported the following:

• Personal information of staff leaked on social media, forcing them to relocate Increased risk of being arrested, especially related to peace advocacy

• Arrest of security personnel who protect the shelters’ entrance

• Rise in sexual violence that affected female staff and other women, reducing the initiatives’ capacities

Security situation and destruction: Feminist initiatives are struggling to keep working and providing services due to war, impacting their ability to support women and girls. This is caused partly by the destruction of infrastructures and networks, which reduces the ability to respond to needs, including accessing goods and services, but also to the overall security situation: “feminist bodies in general that were working on issues and suddenly stopped due to the security situation” 76 The fact that the war’s violence disproportionately affects women and girls makes this particularly difficult for feminist initiatives as their members are at risk:

“The immediate challenge is the continuation of the war, the continuation of systematic attacks on villages, the continuation of sexual and physical violations of women and girls, and the plundering of their property. These are all challenges facing the development of the organisation.”77

Access to funds: The war has reduced feminist initiatives’ access to funds and funding. Access to their own existing funds has been challenging because of the impact of war on banks, leading them to lose either their savings or access to their savings. In addition, the impossibility of operating as usual and the lack of flexibility of donors limited their ability to access new funding. Several key informants mention that lack of funding limited their ability to support women and girls, several highlighting a drastic reduction of activities which in turn reduces even further their ability to apply for new funding. While this lack of funds is not specific to feminist initiatives, they are disproportionately affected as other factors (including direct threats) interfere in the reduction of their activities that, in turn, make them ineligible for traditional humanitarian funding.

Displacement: Feminist initiatives also see displacement as a risk that weakens the initiative. Displacement can happen at the individual or collective level. At the collective level, two organisations whose members were interviewed were displaced from Khartoum to Port Sudan (Red Sea) and El Geneina (West Darfur). In the case of the latter, the initiative relocated in 2016/2017 due to threats and reorganised their activities around the new location. By creating a “Darfur women forum to allow dissemination and collection of information among women to understand their needs”. 78 However, the displacement of the initiative occured with the dispersion of its members, some of whom left for neighbouring countries or other regions, destabilising the initiative. For the initiative that moved to Port Sudan, too, the relocation weakened the organisation because not all members got displaced, let alone to the same new location.

Indeed, individual displacement of initiative members weakens the structure, coordination, and activities. Initiatives must adapt to a de-territorialised identity, impacting their structure, activities, and communication in a context where connectivity

76 FGD 2, Kassala, 28/05/2024

77 KII 13, 10/06/2024

78 KII 2, 28/05/2024

is poor across the country. This includes internal and external communication, notably with donors, resonating with the challenges of accessing funds.

“Some of our staff relocated to other parts of Sudan and other countries. This displacement has led to a necessary restructuring to try and ensure communication is kept alive among these members. The lack of electricity has made it difficult to keep in touch and hold meetings to ensure everyone is informed”.79

In addition, displaced women face challenges in starting up new initiatives. Women activists who relocate often continue their activism in the new location, supporting women and responding to their specific needs and challenges within the new communities while sometimes continuing their activities in the area of origin from a distance. However, they face challenges in registering their initiatives to establish it formally. This is also true for returnees: “As a returnee, I witness delays in establishing the organisation compared to others” 80

While displacement risks are not specific to women, the heightened risk that women face increases their likelihood to move - indeed, women and children constitute the majority of the displaced.81 Similarly to the lack of funding, even if feminist initiatives are not specifically targeted, they are thus disproportionately affected.

Governmental pressure: When it comes to challenges or risks based on specific targeting of feminist initiatives, there is pressure from the de-facto government or previous governments and pressure from other groups in alignment with the country’s policies. One respondent, for instance, shared that their initiative was suspended for a month for an investigation due to their activities and visibility as a feminist group. As a result, this organisation was exposed to severe harassment and additional threats and lost the support of its donors due to the freezing of activities - even temporary ones.

Another form of governmental pressure is the arrest of members of feminist initiatives. This not only destabilises the structure of feminist initiatives but also increases the sense of insecurity that prevents them from continuing their work as usual: “The suppression that took place on some members forced us to close the headquarters and begin our work in safe places such as homes“ 82 One respondent also reported the arrest of shelters’ security personnel, which created heightened challenges in ensuring women’s and girls’ safety.

Intimidation and risk of physical violence, including sexual assault: Women activists are no exception in this war where women and girls’ exposure to violence is dramatically high. On the contrary, their visibility and the rejection of feminism by society put them especially at risk. Groups that disagree with feminist initiatives’ activities use violencesexual violence in particular - as a means of intimidation to silence women and women activists. Respondents reported physical intimidation, including burning down the office, threats of physical violence and assault, social pressure and stigmatisation of its members. In addition to targeted violence, the rise in sexual violence in the war has also affected women members of feminist initiatives.

Feminist initiatives adapting to the war

The resilience and resistance of feminist initiatives to these many challenges and risks is, first and foremost a story of the resilience and resistance of women activists who, in front of the challenges women face, continue supporting each other not only despite

79 KII 4, 27/05/2024

80 KII 13, 10/06/2024

81 Hala Al-Karib, “Violent Conflict in Sudan Has Impacted on Nearly Every Aspect of Women’s Lives,” Inter Press Service, October 30, 2023

82 KII 9, 27/05/2024

challenges, but also because they witness the struggles of women. More than this, FGD participants highlight that these challenges push them towards solidarity and that activities supporting others give them strength and motivation to face their own challenges. Despite the risks they face and the challenges they must overcome for their initiatives, women activists show immense coping abilities.

The way in which they adapt tells us that (1) feminist initiatives resist violence and intimidation through diverse coping strategies and that (2) they are resilient to change, including displacement and activities change, and contribute to building the resilience of women by adapting to their needs.

The following table provide an overview of the coping strategies mentioned by respondents:

Table 2. Feminist initiatives’ coping strategies

Threat

Violence, intimidation or pressure

Relocation / displacement

Increase in emerging needs related to war

Adaptation strategy

Keeping a low profile

Partnering with international organisations

Relocation

Forming transnational groups

Engaging with new groups, especially displaced women and girls

Prioritising emergency response

Prioritising economic empowerment

Prioritising GBV response

Among these coping strategy, the following three demonstrate best the creativity, adaptability and resilience of feminist initiatives:

Keeping a low profile: Feminist initiatives keep a low profile due to restrictions and threats, including by using informal and private locations. They also encourage women to adapt in a similar way; a respondent who provides support to women’s businesses, said they build women’s skills in managing informal businesses in particular.

“We had to adapt due to the restrictions put in place against women after the war. We had to come up with economic empowerment activities for women in informal and private ways to avoid the public eye and the punishment that would come with it.”83

Forming transnational groups: Feminist initiatives finding new ways of working to adapt to the relocation of the initiatives and/or of members, for example, through the formation of a transnational women’s group for Sudanese activists outside Sudan. This requires finding innovative communications tools and is often part of a larger restructuring of the organisations where such transnational groups get a role in parallel to the local activities.

“Those of us that fled the country and are now refugees in countries such as Chad, we gathered and formed a women’s group where we participated in hearings against the sexual violence crimes in Sudan. We also collaborated with other international organisations to further advocate for change in Sudan”.84

Prioritising GBV response: To reduce women’s exposure in the war and better address their needs, feminist initiatives have changed their activities in various ways. Many initiatives tackle sexual violence in a context where the margin of action is relatively limited. The strategies feminist initiatives build, such as developing resilience training

83 KII 2, 28/05/2024

84 KII 2, 28/05/2024

during which women share and learn how to avoid or recover from rape, are innovative ways to provide lifesaving training built on women’s strengths. Other initiatives focus on documenting the violations to recognise women’s experiences and fight stigma while paving the way for accountability.

“In emergency situations in the country, their policy may change. [...] For example, in conflict zones, minors are raped. In this case, the organisation’s role was not that of government agencies. Rather, it preserves information in order to make it easier for those who have been violated. Also, many violations may occur to women in shelter centres. There has not yet been a body in the shelter centres to direct and protect. Women document these violations and raise their awareness”.85

While coping strategies demonstrate the strength and resilience of women activists and feminist initiatives, not all organisations are in a position where they can implement them, and even when they do, some challenges and risks remain. Some respondents shared that, despite their efforts to mitigate challenges, they still had to reduce or stop activities and were not able to protect all their staff.

Box 3. A story of resilience: returning to Darfur to support the most affected people despite threats

One respondent’s story shows an inspiring case of resilience; this woman activist faced threats and violence, got displaced and returned to her area of origin, and was a member of a peace collective before starting her own initiative.

“I was, of course, targeted. This is an event known to some of the sisters. They entered my house, and it was looted. I will say who they are by name. They are the Rapid Support Forces. My teacher was also exposed to something similar to that. There are also many from the stories. [...] We were inside the house with approximately twenty people for a period, and it was an unusual targeting for more than three hours. There was no choice for the people but to surrender. We had no resistance.”86

Despite her experience of violence, she continued her activism first as a member of a collective and then by creating her own initiative that aims to support women most affected by the conflictincluding the displaced and disabled. In Darfur, the impact of violence is tremendous, with many infrastructures destroyed, including hospitals, while at the same time, the number of people injured and becoming disabled - physically and/or mentally - increases. This respondent demonstrates how women, even (or especially) in these circumstances, take the lead in responding to the needs, with a grassroots approach whereby they learn from themselves.

“We visited the maternity hospital at the Nyala Teaching Hospital to know the extent of the damage to which the ward was exposed as a result of indiscriminate military aircraft bombing. We visited the displaced from North Darfur State in shelter centres, and learned their priorities in terms of humanitarian needs. We also counted the number of displaced children in the streets and markets. The most difficult initiative was to count the number of physically and mentally disabled people and the staggering numbers of these people left behind by the current war. But hard work makes the impossible possible ”87

Women activists overcome many challenges during the conflict to continue supporting other women and contributing to a more inclusive society. Having seen how women activists adapt their feminist initiatives, the following sections will analyse the transformative potential of these initiatives.

85 FGD 2, Kassala, 28/05/2024

86 KII 13, 10/06/2024

87 KII 13, 10/06/2024

3. WOMEN TRANSFORMING THE SOCIETY: HOW DO SUDANESE WOMEN CONTRIBUTE TO RESILIENCE, SOLIDARITY,

AND A NARRATIVE SHIFT?

This section highlights feminist initiatives’ immediate and long-term impact as they build the resilience of women while transforming their role; develop networks of solidarity among women that multiply the positive impacts of activism; and build counter-narrative that recognise women’s roles, build their visibility and ultimately, aim for their increased participation. They operate a true definition of localisation, empowering themselves and other women to be the first responders to the needs identified across society:

• They are entirely part of the communities they support by responding to needs that come from women themselves and contribute to strengthening the participation and visibility of women in decision-making (localisation criteria: participation, visibility, coordination).

• They are best positioned to respond in a context where traditional humanitarian actors struggle to access and adapt to the evolving needs.

• Through their activities, they are contributing to transforming societies, building the resilience of women, their solidarities, and counter-narratives for policy influence.88

3.1 Feminist initiatives building the resilience of women

Feminist initiatives contribute to building the resilience of Sudanese women by strengthening their capacities to resist violence, overcome challenges, and continue responding to their needs and those of their families in times of war. This section focuses on the activities feminist initiatives implement to build resilience and empower women, ultimately contributing to transforming their role in society.

Feminist initiatives fight for women’s rights, roles, and needs

Feminist groups in Sudan provide services and programmes that transform women’s role in society and the war. These services, which fall under emergency response, empowerment, and advocacy, contribute to building women’s resilience and capacity to face obstacles by empowering them to respond to their needs and those of their families, changing their role in society at the same time. In the long run, it contributes to increasing women’s rights, recognition, and participation.

Advocacy: Feminist initiatives advocate for the inclusion of women and their specific needs in peace policies and agreements both locally and internationally. One respondent, for instance, represents the voice of Sudanese women in regional and international spaces, such as the African Union, and in peace negotiations, such as the Darfur Peace Process. Other respondents also advocate for women’s rights and transitional justice, creating partnerships with other feminist initiatives in Sudan and neighbouring countries, women’s groups dedicated to women’s inclusion in decisionmaking spheres, and documenting violations against women.89

88 The 7 localisation criteria listed here combine criterion from the NEAR and START networks which both propose a localization measurement framework. NEAR (2017) Localisation performance measurement framework; and Smruti Patel & Koenraad Van Brabant (2017) The start fund, start network and localisation. Global Mentoring Initiative

89 Participants in FGD 2, Kassala, 28/05/2024

One activity that feminist initiatives implement to develop women’s representation and participation is the creation of discussion groups dedicated to women. These groups strive to promote the inclusion of women in decision-making spheres at all levels, especially in the peace process.

Empowerment: The second approach in which feminist initiatives in Sudan build the resilience of women is through economic empowerment, psychosocial support and training on resilience, survival and safety skills. For example, SIHA contributes to transforming women’s role through peacebuilding and peace skills training, in addition to economic skills. This political and economic empowerment can help them access the political decision-making table. Economic empowerment and education contribute to building the resilience of women who are better able to access employment, including in displacement, thus increasing their ability to respond to their needs and provide for their families. Such activities include:

Providing girls’ education and vocational training

• Support to women’s income-generating activities, including through grants, microfinance and creating coworking space for women

• Financial literacy and financial management

In addition, feminist initiatives build women’s resilience by creating safe spaces for women and girls to exchange, talk about their challenges and provide mental relief. This psychosocial support also provides practical skills as women and girls learn from each other to cope with violence, especially sexual violence, as representatives from feminist initiatives shared:

“It becomes a safe space for IDP women to talk and get relief. Although it was few hours, telling the problem they had, the fear, the depression that affected them in the war moving to the safe area.”90 .

“Women groups allow women to come together and teach each other skills that are necessary to: avoid rape and arrest, recover from rape, earn a living and advocate for their own rights and the rights of other women in the community.” 91

Emergency: Finally, feminist initiatives also respond to the urgent needs of women and girls affected by the conflict by coordinating with local and international actors and/or providing emergency support directly through the initiatives. Some feminist initiatives focus on specific groups such as displaced women: women with disabilities, children, and women who lost their subsistence allowances or sources of income. Research participants indicated proposing the following emergency support:

• Distribution of food, emergency non-food items, including dignity kits

• Provision of health care, including sexual and reproductive health care, through emergency rooms or mobile clinics

• Services to GBV survivors, including referrals and legal services

Feminist initiatives’ activities empower women to face challenges, building resilience

Feminist initiatives’ activities mentioned in the previous subsection contribute to building women’s resilience by (1) improving access to services, which enables 90 KII

women to better adapt to shocks; (2) addressing issues related to GBV, including social stigma, thus helping women recover; and (3) increasing women’s capabilities to contribute to political matters. Through these changes, women are better placed to face and recover from shocks, but also to become political actors and empower other women.

Improved access to services: Access to services, including shelter, medical and legal services, facilitates empowerment and resilience. Women have a better knowledge of the available services which help them in cases of need, as they know how to respond and can better face crises. In addition, feminist initiatives’ effort to identify needs leads to better support. To increase the efficiency of their initiatives, feminist groups often hold discussions with women and girls about the economic situation to better understand the needs in the shelters and how they can best provide help for women. This also allows better communication of specific needs with initiatives and organisations providing legal aid.

“The sharing of information among these women groups has allowed many women to gain access to food, shelter, health and relocation services.”92

GBV prevention and response: While feminist initiatives implement activities to prevent GBV, such as safety training against rape or awareness raising against child marriage, they also look at the afterwards to support survivors recovering from sexual violence This includes medical and legal services, but also psychosocial support and awareness raising against stigma to help restore dignity to survivors of SGBV. Respondents consider that activities related to GBV are a prominent part of the resilience and empowerment process: ”They are able to stand up against violence and have full capacity to advocate against any forms of violence, including sexual, despite social stigma” 93

Feminist initiatives’ work on GBV also entails collecting information on violations to advocate against sexual violence, pave the way for accountability, and push for policy changes:

“During the Al-Bashir regime, we advocated for the inclusion of ‘sexual gender violence’ instead of generalising it as ‘gender-based violence’ in the Darfur priority for peace to ensure clarity of accountability to those implicated. We advocated for the protection of women who have faced or are at risk of facing sexual violence. We also help women be educated to ensure they are not subjected to early marriages and can represent other women in political matters not just as a voter but also a legislator”. 94

Increased women’s capabilities to contribute to political matters: To empower women and girls and ensure their resilience in the long term, feminist groups in Sudan build women and girls’ political capabilities. They support women’s participation in decision-making by building the capacities and confidence of women and girls to speak up and advocating for women’s participation. But beyond the decision-making spheres, feminist initiatives also build women’s capabilities to be agents of change in their daily lives, including by creating their own feminist initiatives. Training that includes financial or digital literacy, networking, and technical skills supports women in becoming activists. The collaboration and support between feminist initiatives also facilitates this.

92 KII 3, 28/05/2024 and KII4 27/05/2024

93 KII 1, 20/05/2024

94 KII 2, 28/05/2024

Box 4. Women activists building other activists: The story of Fatima (name changed)

During the data collection, one respondent spoke about the case of a woman who participated in training provided by the respondent’s organisation. This woman was then displaced and empowered by the training and activism from which she benefited. She was supported financially by another feminist organisation and started her own organisation in the place she relocated to. This story how feminist activism creates a chain whereby supported women also become supporters of other women.

“An example is Fatima, who moved to Gariff, registered the organisation anew and began advocating for women even as an IDP herself. She got funding from organisations [...] to respond to the needs of the women there with the resources she acquires. We have also seen women who are also IDPs come to our centres to collect resources and distribute them to other women. Groups such as the Blue Nile have participated in these relief projects for IDP s.”95

3.2 Feminist initiatives advance localisation in a context of war

In addition to building the resilience of women and changing their role in society, feminist initiatives also foster solidarity between women, which multiplies their effect on resilience, through networks and collectives that strengthen feminist initiatives’ outreach, capacities, visibility, and policy influence. As the example above showcases, these networks lead to more women becoming activists, ultimately increasing their outreach and response. This section focuses on the networks of solidarity that contribute to women’s empowerment at different levels and positively impact women and feminist initiatives as they reinforce existing solidarity. These networks contribute to localising humanitarian response, affirming feminist initiatives as an indispensable actor to support women and communities in an adapted, impactful, and efficient manner.

Women build networks of solidarity at three levels

Solidarity amongst women in the war has been built at numerous levels, creating networks of solidarity that work together to support women during the war. Networks emerge at the grassroots level, between women, between feminist initiatives, and at the level of humanitarian action.

At the grassroots level, women’s organisations’ centres and activities allow women and girls to meet, network, and exchange skills and knowledge. For instance, feminist initiatives’ protection centres for women or organised networks, such as a student network one respondent built, have provided spaces and opportunities for women to interact and support each other. Psychosocial support for women and girls has also been instrumental in building solidarity and supporting women’s coping mechanisms during the war. As one FGD participant in Sennar in May shared:

“Feminist organisations worked on women and provided them with sessions. For example, one organisation worked on psychological support for women and girls displaced from northwest Sennar. They were able to know what psychological support means. They reached a stage when [they were able] to explain what they need and what they are suffering from, this proves that they benefited from those sessions, and the sessions are still continuing”.96

The presence of feminist initiatives in the community and needs identification is done through socialisation that fosters solidarity. This is commonly done at social events such as coffee ceremonies, regular community meetings, and through awareness programmes. This, too, has connected women, creating networks at the grassroots level.

This networking not only contributes to the resilience of women who can learn and seek support from one another; it also brings the response closer to communities – i.e. localises it. Feminist initiatives strengthen their pre-existing relationship with women and include them in the identification of needs and response, increasing the contribution of women in humanitarian assistance through participation - one of the localisation criteria.

Among feminist initiatives, referral networks and organised networks play a great role in building relationships and solidarity among different groups. They operate a network with other women’s groups to build sisterhood and solidarity amongst them. A representative of a feminist initiative confirmed this in a KII in May:

“SIHA motivates us, and we would like to appreciate the efforts of SIHA and the leadership provided since the start of the war in Sudan, providing continued support of direct assistance, as well as advocating for women at the highest level of the regional and international stage.“97

Respondents reported that they coordinate with other feminist initiatives to build solidarity and communicate with hard-to-reach grassroots organisations in remote locations. Digital technologies are used creatively to foster solidarity. This coordination also facilitates referrals, especially in the context of displacement, where both women and initiatives can move.

Feminist initiatives collaborate based on common objectives, activities or needs and/ or because the same women contribute to different groups. For example, a research participant was active in at least three organisations working in the field of disabilities.98 Another respondent, who works in emergency rooms in Kassala, indicated collaborating with organisations that are complementary, such as IDP shelters, to improve their impact providing health services to displaced women and girls. This increases women and girls’ access to services as they are aware of multiple feminist initiatives: FGD participants were able to name a minimum of 7 initiatives per group.

By building networks, feminist initiatives reinforce their outreach, as well as their visibility and influence. Aligned with localisation research findings99, our study found that these networks are key to help feminist initiatives access funding and capacity building through partnerships, grants and trainings provided by more established feminist initiatives.

96 FGD 3, Sennar, 28/05/2024

97 KII 6, 20/05/2024

98 FGD 3, Sennar, 28/05/2024

99 Samuel Hall. The added value of faith actors in localisation, barriers and opportunities in Humanitarian action: Learnings from Afghanistan-Pakistan, Ethiopia-Kenya, Palestine, and Mozambique. Commissioned by Islamic Relief Worldwide, 2024

At the humanitarian coordination level, the system of clusters can create additional linkages between feminist initiatives included in humanitarian coordination mechanisms, as well as connections between the initiatives and international organisations, including donors and UN agencies. Women call for protection for survivors in and outside shelters and provide them with psychological support. Additionally, they provide or advocate for providing economic, social, and political empowerment and emergency relief for survivors.

While not all feminist initiatives have access to humanitarian coordination mechanisms, the networks they build have a multiplier effect: initiatives that are included in coordination play an intermediary role by representing other feminist initiatives and women; and empowering smaller initiatives thanks to their better access to fundings.

The impact of local solidarity networks on groups and women

By building strong networks, feminist initiatives’ localised response to women’s needs is strengthened. Ultimately, this leads to increased recognition and role of feminist initiatives and of communities, as part of the “participation revolution” whereby communities would take the leadership in humanitarian response in the way feminist initiatives in Sudan do.

By making feminist initiatives stronger, networks of solidarity have a positive impact on women. This came out prominently in our findings as the solidarity networks (1) increase women’s access to relief services by connecting them to one another and to feminist initiatives and (2) reinforce feminist initiatives’ capacities to empower women. Feminist initiatives mobilise their networks to strengthen advocacy strategies and address women’s rights and roles in the peace process. This is primarily approached through two methods of networks: meeting with grassroots women and meeting and working with neighbouring associations. They also build a better knowledge of women’s needs and are better able to address them, including by coordinating with other initiatives with complementary services.

Participants identified several common goals that are at the basis of this solidarity and help build networks:

• Support to survivors of GBV and SGBV.

• Support to people with disabilities in centres and homes.

• Awareness of the importance of peace and working to stop the war.

• Increase of women’s capacities to adapt to war through training and economic empowerment.

• Increase of women’s participation and representation in future political processes.

• Documentation of violations against women.

• Gender equality.

Ultimately, referrals and training increase women’s access to services and even employment. A respondent highlighted that these networks can help women know which initiatives exist and who can support them in their locations, thus increasing access to services. Because of this, the more organisations that exist, the more women can benefit from these services. As on female participant in an FGD in Sennar in May shared:

“The importance of networking for existing bodies facilitates the spread and speed so that it increases empowerment within feminist communities because not everyone is in one place. Therefore, there must be a multiplicity of bodies in order to reduce instability within feminist communities.”100

Feminist initiative’s unique positioning as part and parcel of the communities they support, and their efforts to network and support each other – strengthening their capacities in the meantime – translates into better access to services, empowerment, and increased resilience for women. Their impact is essential in the humanitarian response, and they organise as network to multiply this impact. By doing so, they contribute to the localisation of the response, and are invaluable stakeholders that the international community should partner with, support, and listen to.

3.3 Feminist initiative producing counter-narrative on women

Feminist initiatives, because of their strategic position, contribute to visibilising Sudanese women. This effort leads to the development of counter-narratives that recognise the role of women, and that feminist initiatives continuously advocate for to address harmful norms that invisibilise women.

Gendered narratives have had a huge impact on women’s participation and inclusion in many sectors and lack thereof. Narratives matter, and the narrative that women’s inclusion in peace discussions has no critical importance led to the exclusion of women in peace processes and the exclusion of women in decision-making positions at large.

Narratives also play a role in the availability and intent for women to get assistance and support when facing certain challenges. Harmful narratives create stigma around assault and SGBV, shame and restrict survivors from getting the help that they need. Stigmas around working women further restrict women’s inclusion in contributing to the community.

Feminist initiatives’ efforts to transform narratives on women

Feminist initiatives play an important role in shifting narratives through advocacy and empowerment efforts. Our research found that advocacy by directly addressing the narratives encourages big and small organisations to include women in peace processes and encourages the participation and representation of women. For instance, social media platforms with the initiative TAGTOM uses social media to advocate for women’s political participation.

In addition to direct advocacy, empowerment efforts are impactful in changing the narratives as feminist initiatives contribute to behavioural changes, economic empowerment and livelihood activities, psychosocial activities, and the prevention of GBV, among others.101

Feminist initiatives contribute to positive narratives of women’s economic, social, and political roles before and during the conflict. On the economic dimension, women’s participation in livelihood activities is supported by many initiatives in a context where the war affects gender dynamics: the increase in women-headed households and loss of income-generating activities held by men has led to many women becoming sole providers for their household. Women’s participation in the economy, such as

100 FGD 3, Sennar, 28/05/2024

101 KII 5, “By addressing protection needs as well GBV case management for survivor by raising awareness of GBV referral pathway in Kassala”, 22/05/2024

establishing small businesses while displaced in order to sustain themselves and their families, demonstrates women’s resilience and capabilities.

“In places such as the Libya market, there has been evidence that most entrepreneurs are women from war-inflicted areas. They are the sole providers for their families, especially during conflicts, and are integral parts of the process for peace”.102

Women’s social role within their communities has also experienced a shift and increased recognition due to feminist initiatives’ efforts to change the narratives. Respondents described the importance of women as community pillars and their role in managing and sustaining the entire community. Feminist initiatives, through their example and role in the community, bring a positive narrative on women’s roles in responding to the community’s needs. This deconstructs previous narratives of women as having no critical importance in the peace effort and community and challenges the exclusion of women from peace processes.

“Women are the pillars of the community and understand better than most what is needed by their communities and how to come up with workable solutions for these needs”.103

On the political dimension, women’s agency and political role are also becoming more visible as feminist initiatives challenge narratives of women as simply victims of war and are advocating and bringing to the spotlight women at the frontlines in the fight for peace.

Counter-narratives and shifting

narratives

At the grassroots level, shifting narratives contribute to reducing the stigma on women and encourage them to take a more active role in numerous sectors. For instance, economic empowerment has encouraged women entrepreneurs to open businesses and support each other, encouraging the notion that “work is not a shame” 104

The stigma around GBV and assault is also being challenged and experiencing a shift. Advocacy and protection services have helped shift the narrative of SGBV against the consideration that sexual violence is a tool of war.105 Changing the narrative on GBV and reducing stigma, in turn, raises awareness to increase empowerment against GBV. In addition to this, there have been efforts to increase and advocate for more safe spaces and increased security for women in IDP camps.

Beyond grassroots level efforts, women’s inclusion in the peace process has been propagated by feminist initiatives and their advocacy efforts at the level of decisionmaking and peace processes. Creating space for women to share their experiences and clarify their needs has allowed women to contribute to the peace effort.106 Feminist groups and initiatives have included women in the discussion about peace-making and created a way forward.

Nevertheless, women have obtained limited progress, and much is still needed to shift the narrative further. Changes have been observed since 2019 due to the role of women in the revolution, which increased their visibility and recognition. This increased recognition of feminist initiatives’ role in women’s empowerment.

102 KII 2, 28/05/2024

103 KII 4, 27/05/2024

104 KII 7, 30/5/2024

105 KII 3, “The narrative of women and girls being a tool for war through sexual violence has also been changed by these women groups”, 27/05/2024

106 KII 3, “These women groups have been able to include women in these discussions and therefore the way forward and their needs have been clarifed”, 27/05/2024

However, misconceptions based on traditional cultural beliefs hinder a significant and sustainable narrative shift for women despite the ovservable impact over the years. The role of women in Sudan still needs to be further visibilised.

“There has been an increased inclusion of women at these peace tables. However, despite our combined efforts, we are far from changing the narratives conditioned into these communities by culture.“107

Feminist initiatives are playing a crucial and ongoing role in transforming society, primarily by partaking in services that build resistance and resilience, such as emergency response, advocacy and empowerment, facilitated by networks of solidarity at different levels, but also by shifting the narrative on women, encouraging them to take even more active roles in society.

4. INVESTING IN LOCALISATION AND IN GENDERINCLUSIVE

POLICIES AND PRACTICES

While women are increasingly recognised and international actors aim to include them better in decision-making and peace processes, the structural inequalities, tradition and bias within the humanitarian and local political architecture, continue invisibilising women. Feminist initiatives, as local actors led by women and for women, are particularly well placed to identify needs and solutions and decision-making. Indeed, research on localisation shows that equal partnership with actors from the community and the increase of their visibility and policy influence increases the impact, sustainability and ownership of programmes.108 Feminist initiatives and the networks they form are key actors that should be included equally in decision-making and peace processes. Beyond this, they can facilitate a better inclusion of all women and marginalised groups through their capacities to mobilise, their knowledge of barriers to women’s participation and solutions to overcome them.

These results show that investing in Sudanese women and feminist initiatives is necessary to implement a localised humanitarian response, not only for its operational benefits –because feminist initiatives are better placed to respond in a timely and adequate manner – but also to develop transformative partnerships. Women’s efforts to build counternarrative, take on economic, social and political roles against the traditional gender roles need to be recognised by current decision-makers. Women activists thus call for a better inclusion of women and women’s issues in humanitarian and peacebuilding spheres.

4.1 Feminist initiatives and international actors: between inclusion and exclusion, support and restrictions

Stories of women activists show a discrepancy between an intention to better include women in decision-making and practices that exclude them and restrict the support to women and feminist initiatives. Our research shows that international actors recognise the importance of women’s voices and aim to respond to their needs; however, this support does not include feminist initiatives, which face heightened funding gaps due to the war. Ultimately, underfunding feminist initiatives who can respond to their needs negatively affects women.

State of women’s inclusion & exclusion in humanitarian action and decision making

Research participants speak little about humanitarian actors; when they share their experiences, two main points emerge: (1) while humanitarian actors recognise the importance of women’s voices, they are still excluded from decision-making; and (2) humanitarian actors support Sudanese women, but not necessarily feminist initiatives or women’s groups, reducing the impact of their interventions.

While humanitarian actors recognise the importance of women’s voices, they are still excluded from decision-making. The International humanitarian community recognises the important role women’s initiatives and groups play in peacebuilding and in shaping outcomes and impacts of interventions, as well as the importance of women’s agency and collective action in advocating for their rights and addressing issues that affect them at the local, national, and international levels.

108 Samuel Hall. The added value of faith actors in localisation, barriers and opportunities in Humanitarian action: Learnings from Afghanistan-Pakistan, Ethiopia-Kenya, Palestine, and Mozambique. Commissioned by Islamic Relief Worldwide, 2024

However, the continued top-down approach adopted by most humanitarian organisations leads to interventions that are disconnected from the realities of women and girls in Sudan. Feminist initiatives, as local actors and members of communities could play an essential role in designing better policies and programmes if they were included as equal partners. Women activists identify their inclusion in decision-making platforms as a crucial step for promoting gender equality, advancing women’s rights, and ensuring that policies and programs address the diverse needs and perspectives of the entire population. Historically, women in Sudan have been underrepresented in formal decision-making structures due to a variety of social, cultural, and political factors leading to structural inequalities heightened by the conflict. Women activists ask international actors to actively engage with and include women in international platforms to counter this exclusion. 109

Humanitarian actors support women, but not necessarily women’s groups. Government agencies, international organisations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), community-based organisations, and initiatives by religious or cultural groups provide emergency relief to women 110 Some of the assistance includes access to healthcare, education, economic opportunities, legal assistance, and protection services for women facing challenges such as discrimination, violence, or economic disadvantage. However, this support varies between regions: respondents in South Darfur, for instance, highlight that traditional aid actors have limited presence. Additionally, the same humanitarian actors who provide humanitarian support to women, including displaced women, do not necessarily support women’s activism and feminist initiatives.

These findings are aligned with Samuel Hall’s previous research, which found that many programmes, especially in the context of crises and displacement, do not adequately respond to the needs of women and fail to involve them in decision-making. Indeed, gender is rarely incorporated in strategies, practices, and learning.111 Moreover, many programmes are gender-blind, meaning that they do not acknowledge and actively address the specific needs of women and the barriers they face in attempting to respond to them. By doing so, programmes ultimately fail to address women’s and communities’ needs.112 Research shows that, on the contrary, transferring decision-making - and funding - to organisations that are part of these communities increases the impact of programmes.113 Feminist initiatives show that they are better placed to respond to women’s needs, as they currently do when most humanitarian actors cannot provide appropriate support. It is time for international actors to empower feminist initiatives in line with their commitment to localisation, by developing funding, capacity-building, partnerships, coordination, visibility, and policy influence of feminist initiatives.

Feminist initiatives need more support to cater for the increased needs of women

According to the feedback from participants, international actors’ support to these essential actors is however missing. Women’s groups and initiatives have encountered numerous difficulties intensified by the ongoing conflict. Many of these groups have been

109 KII 2, “We should include more women in the international platforms and in the discussion of peace in a way that is organised and effective”, 28/05/2024

110 KII 4, “They include government, local and international organisations that provide relief in the form of food and other basic needs to the displaced communities”, 27/05/2024

111 Samuel Hall. Gender assessment of the GPMD’s portfolio. Commissioned by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, 2020

112 Samuel Hall. ASA Pilot Interventions in Kenya. Commissioned by the World Bank, 2022

113 Samuel Hall. Localisation of Protection Programming in Garissa camp and Turkana, Kenya. Commissioned by DRC, 2023

compelled to reorganise or relocate to alternative areas to continue offering services to their communities. A range of needs and obstacles confront these women’s groups and demand attention. Among these challenges is the destruction of infrastructure caused by the conflict, with many organisations suffering damage to their offices, furnishings, and communication networks. Additionally, there is a scarcity of adaptable funding, requirements for re-registration in new locales, and the necessity for capacity enhancement.

Research participants emphasise that these requirements could be met with assistance in registering organisations, the provision of flexible grants and funding, and support for capacity building and resources to facilitate restructuring and relocation. Some groups of women who have undergone displacement recommend aid akin to that provided to refugees or initiatives aimed at internationally displaced women.

Research participants highlighted funding gaps, particularly, as a key challenge in the context of the war. As indicated in section 1.3, several respondents indicated having reduced or stopped activities due to the lack of funding. They highlight 2 main aspects of the funding gaps:

The lack of flexibility of donors: At a time when feminist initiatives cannot function as usual, donors’ lack of flexibility has reduced their access to existing and potential funding. Cases of displacement, modification of activities, or temporary closure have led respondents to lose access to funds. One respondent, whose organisation was under the scrutiny of the government due to their advocacy, shared that they had to stop their activities for one month because of the government-imposed closure and investigation; following this, the donor stopped their funds. In a context where organisations cannot function as usual, this lack of flexibility reduces the response to increased needs.

Restrictions due to security procedures: Restrictions imposed by governments, banks and humanitarian actors affect local actors first and foremost. This observation is shared by feminist initiatives highlighting that both banking restrictions that prevent transfers to Sudan and humanitarian security procedures and clauses that increase the scrutiny of local actors and reduce their capacities to apply to grants prevent feminist initiatives, especially small ones, from accessing funding. This increases the pressure on them and, again, limits the response they can provide to the community.

4.2 Feminist initiatives’ demands for the peace process

As in humanitarian action, the inclusion of women and feminist initiatives in political action in Sudan is very limited. Women activists demand better inclusion, for themselves and all women, in the peace process - but also in political discussions and policy making. As many feminist initiatives advocate for this representation, they also identify the need for the peace process to address gender inequalities and tackle their specific needs.

Women’s lack of inclusion in the existing peace process and negotiation spaces

Looking at women’s experience in contributing to political spaces from the 2019 constitutional declaration until today, we observe a lack of active inclusion that addresses biases preventing their meaningful participation, as well as an unequal representation of grassroots women

While there has been progress in recognising the role of women in peace, they still face various challenges in achieving meaningful participation. For instance, women

played a significant role in the protests leading to the 2019 constitutional declaration, representing 40% of negotiators and securing provisions for women’s rights. However, there’s a noted absence of women’s groups in subsequent peace agreements, such as the 2020 Juba agreement, indicating a disconnect between the perception of progress and the reality of women’s inclusion. Moreover, despite high-profile women being involved in peace negotiations, grassroots women and their organisations often lack representation and participation. This gap is fed by and contributes to the narrative that women are detached from war and peace, highlighting a need for more inclusive processes.

Indeed, the recognition from the international community of the importance of women’s voices in peace processes shows discrepancies when it comes to women’s actual involvement, leading to critiques on how this recognition is implemented:

“The International community considers women’s voices and their diversity of them. However, there are ways that they carry out these processes of including women that we do not agree with. We still commend these international organisations for recognising the counter-narratives propagated in the society.”114

Feminist initiatives are identified as essential for bridging the gap regarding women’s participation and ensuring inclusivity in peace processes. Strategies include storytelling and documentation by women to inform peace processes, supporting underrepresented groups such as children with disabilities, and advocating for gendersensitive programming and participation. Women’s storytelling and documentation are identified as a method for informed peace processes.

Women and feminist groups’ definition of gender-inclusive peace process

UN Women defines inclusive peace processes as a process in which “All groups and actors in a society can be included in a peace process in various capacities [...] and have their concerns addressed. 115 However, UN Women themselves recognise that this definition doesn’t address societal biases and thus is insufficient: “This definition is often contested and seen as too limited and biased. The practice of inclusion within peace processes has also been criticised for often being superficial in nature”.116 The inclusion of women in peace processes needs to include means to counter societal biases and ensure the meaningful participation of groups.

Women’s groups and women define a gender-inclusive peace process as a process and a result (peace) - the latter being more than stopping the war and, instead, including healing, recognition and liberation of women. For FGD participants, peace extends beyond the mere cessation of war. It encompasses broader aspects such as the dignity of women, healing from trauma, recognition of women’s resilience, and liberation from social stigma and economic disempowerment. Thus, a gender-inclusive peace process goes beyond stopping the war; rather, it includes the empowerment and liberation of women:

114 KII 3, 27/05/2024

“Peace is not about the gun, it is about the dignity of women who were displaced, fled from their homes and were raped.”

“[It includes the] recognition of the innovation of women and their resilience, and womenled organisations.”117

There’s a strong call for including grassroots women in peace discussions and decision-making processes. A gender-inclusive peace process also focuses on the process itself. In order to reach this, women’s recommendations include creating platforms for women’s voices, ensuring representation at all levels of decision-making, and empowering women from the grassroots level.

“Our recommendations would include the provision of a platform for women to discuss the priorities for peace, inclusion of women at the grassroots level in these discussions, representation of women at the top and a shifted focus on the war in Sudan and the violence against women being perpetrated as a byproduct of war.”118

Additionally, as part of the peace process, participants stress the importance of recognising and addressing the specific needs of women affected by conflict, including economic empowerment, trauma healing, access to justice, and provision of essential services such as healthcare and reproductive support. As part of this, respondents highlight the importance of recognition and repairs of sexual violence and its impact, as well as trauma healing and rebuilding of the dignity of women victims of sexual violence.

“Women’s groups’ narratives on peace are that it shouldn’t just be about the political participation and the end of violence, but also about addressing social stigma and building economic empowerment for women”.119

Women activists emphasise empowering women politically, economically, and socially while challenging negative perceptions about women’s capacities. Women’s recommendations include recognising their role and resilience, enhancing their participation in negotiations, providing vocational training, and raising awareness about women’s rights and contributions to peace.

Finally, participants highlighted the importance of humanitarian assistance in building a gender-inclusive peace process, including by promoting inclusion and peace, but also in responding to the specific needs of women and girls through food support, healthcare services, and support for women-led organisations working on peace and security issues.

117 Both quotes come from participants to FGD 1, Port Sudan, 20/05/2024

118 KII 4, 27/05/2024

119 Note from the field, Samuel Hall National Researcher, 07/06/2024

5. CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATIONS

Feminist initiatives and women activists in Sudan have been at the forefront of the revolution and advocating for peace for years. Women have mobilised and organised to demand a gender-inclusive peace process and meaningful participation, going beyond a focus on “women’s issues” and as shown in our interviews, fighting for a peaceful future and liberation for all Sudanese. They understand the multifaceted nature of the conflict and call for a more inclusive society by tackling the root causes of oppression, inequality, and economic disparities. Despite women’s solidarity and leadership in the response; resistance to violence and contribution to women’s resilience; and building counter-narratives that call for women’s inclusion in political spheres, they are often excluded from support and decision making.

Our research confirms that women in Sudan are primarily affected by the war. Women activists and feminist initiatives have to overcome many obstacles in Sudan, especially during the war. The war affects them as individuals who face violence, displacement, and limited access to services, but it also affects them as activists. Women activists are particularly targeted, and the initiatives must resist intimidations, attacks, and risks of closure. Yet, women are proving their ability to resist and adapt to continue supporting others. By resisting intimidation, they showcase the steadfastness and resilience of their activism in front of violence and displacement.

Learning from interviews with women across the country, our research provides 3 key messages:

1. Women in Sudan play an invaluable role: Through their feminist initiatives and activism, they became the local actor capable of providing humanitarian services, building transformative partnerships, and developing networks and collective that respond to women’s short- and long-term needs. The invaluable role of Sudanese women is embedded in their collective solidarity. Sudanese women organise not only in spite of the circumstances but also because of them. Stories of women activists show that the desire to support each other, as well as their own need to keep going, are key to becoming activists or continuing their activism. This solidarity is a driver and a resource to help them overcome obstacles, including through the support of other activists. Feminist initiatives strengthen one another in their capacities to respond to the needs and overcome obstacles.

2. Driven by this solidarity, feminist initiatives play a life-saving and long-term role in Sudan: They empower women through their activities, resilience, and solidarity; beyond this, they help restore dignity for survivors of SGBV and build counter-narratives to fight violence against and exclusion of women. They contribute to developing women’s economic, social and political role thus transforming society in the long run.

3. Recognising, including and supporting women and women’s groups is necessary: While progress has been made, feminist initiatives are too often still excluded from decision-making, funding or seen as a token of representation due to harmful narratives and norms but also due to very practical barriers, including funding grassroots women’s groups. It is essential to recognise and visibilise women’s activism as it contributes to localised, timely and impactful responses. Feminist initiatives still lack the recognition and support they need from traditional actors – the international community, humanitarian actors, and political actors - hindering their impact. There is a multiplier effect in investing in feminist initiatives: as they have proven their own

resilience, they build the resilience of other women and develop solidarity that pushes women to become activist themselves, multiplying the impact on collective resilience.

While they fight for women’s inclusion, feminist peace and solidarity go beyond women’s participation in the peace process. Women demand to be included in the process but also insist that peace is more than the end of the war and must include recognition, healing, and policies that contribute to liberation and equality for all Sudanese. While dominant narratives often equate feminism with solely women, an intersectional approach to feminism acknowledges that the struggle against all regimes of exploitation and domination must complement the fight against patriarchy. As argued by Reem Abbas and Hala Al Karib:

“Feminist peace and solidarity in Sudan go beyond merely acknowledging the role of women and girls in peacebuilding; it encompasses a transformative approach to conflict resolution and recovery that challenges patriarchal norms, seeks to dismantle genderbased violence and systemic oppression, and moves away from generalized approaches that lack an understanding of the local contexts and needs. For Sudanese activists, feminist peace is a holistic approach that aims to not only achieve peace in its basic definition of the absence of war but also dismantle gender power dynamics and the multiple layers of conflict and its interlinkages with militarisation, patriarchy, neoliberalism, and other systems of oppression.”120

It is time that all actors recognise feminist initiatives’ power to localise the response to the war in Sudan through equal and transformative partnerships and take concrete action to enable their active participation in peace talks.

5.1 Recommendations for the inclusion of Feminist Initiatives

In a context where the collective imaginary is leaving women aside, giving women and their activism the visibility they need for change is essential. Recognising the role of women and women’s groups in a localised response is essential, as the exclusion of women from decision-making processes is rooted in their representation and treatment as victims, preventing the recognition of their agency.121

The following recommendations are derived from the women’s stories of resilience, resistance and solidarity during the conflict in Sudan and their experience of exclusion from decision-making and peacebuilding spheres. These recommendations thus aim to build a more localised response to the war in Sudan with feminist initiatives to:

• Recognise the role of feminist initiatives as essential local actors and support them in responding to women’s needs

• Acknowledge and address barriers to women’s meaningful participation in decisionmaking

120 Reem Abbas and Hala Al Karib, “Sudanese Feminist Sisterhood: At the frontline of radical resistance and solidarity,” August 14, 2023, https://www.alliancemagazine.org/blog/sudanese-feminist-sisterhood-at-the-frontline-of-radical-resistance-and-solidarity/.

121 Caoimhe De Barra , “Women and Girls Should Not Be Seen Solely as Victims of Conflict – They Must Have a Role as Agents of Change,” Trócaire, December 8, 2021, https://www.trocaire.org/news/role-as-agents-of-change/

• Ensure the inclusion of women and feminist initiatives in peacebuilding, thus leading to a more inclusive society

In a context with an ongoing conflict, a disputed government, and conflicting national and international political interests, addressing recommendations to specific stakeholders is difficult. However, as we recognise the role regional and international actors committed to peace and gender justice can play in advocacy and financial support, the following recommendations target donors, governments and humanitarian actors.

Donors and governments

1. Design and support gender-dedicated policies and programmes, including emergency response, empowerment, and narrative/media shift, adapted for feminist organisations and networks to apply with or without partners.

2. Design policies and campaigns to promote women’s voices and shift the narrative from women as passive / used for war towards feminist peace and solidarity.

3. Revise funding restrictions that prevent local organisations from applying for funds and provide flexible and long-term forms of funding that are accessible to grassroots women groups or collaborate with partners to provide the needed support for grassroots women groups.

4. Fund capacity strengthening for grassroots organisations to formalise structures internally and for referral mechanism, support movement building, and provide representatives with the confidence to contribute in national, regional, and international spaces.

5. Coordinate donor efforts for a joint approach to advocating and supporting a genderinclusive peace process that ensures women’s meaningful participation and it works towards feminist peace.

Humanitarian actors

1. Encourage the development of networks that gather multiple women’s groups and facilitate partnerships among them and between women’s groups and other actors.

2. Actively create space for women’s groups in existing decision-making fora, accounting for the existing societal bias to ensure these groups can participate. This includes bias at the coordination scale as well as bias within the internal structure and work culture of humanitarian actors.

3. Amplify the work of women’s groups during the conflict and their essential role in peacebuilding processes and humanitarian efforts to actively take part in changing the narrative on women in Sudan and contribute to a more inclusive future in Sudan.

4. Provide practical support to grassroots women’s organisations, including flexible and accessible funding, and capacity building to improve and expand their services in line with a localisation approach.

5. Strengthen the institutional capacities of grassroots organisations to formalise structures, support movement building, and provide representatives with the confidence to contribute in national, regional and international spaces.

Box 5: Minimum requirements for gender-inclusive policies and practices

(1) Facilitate a narrative shift as a root cause in the exclusion of women

The misconception of women and/or displaced people as victims (passive) prevents their inclusion. Actors need to work towards building alternative narratives that recognise the role of women. To do so, two pathways are identified by respondents:

Supporting women’s groups as they play a key role in recognising women’s economic, social and political roles.

Working with the media to accompany a shift from referring to women as a tool for conflict towards recognising their active and beneficial role in society.

Strengthen feminist initiatives to shift narratives and facilitate inclusion: Women’s groups and collectives, women-led organisations, and feminist initiatives can be intermediaries and levels to both previous points, transforming the narrative and including women in decisionmaking. Stakeholders need to take actions to support these initiatives that are at the forefront of the response by:

(2) Take action to include grassroots women and groups in the process

As structural discrimination excludes women from the decision-making circle, stakeholders need to make an active effort to include them, including by creating space and tackling the bias preventing their participation. This requires:

Including different profiles of women, including various social classes and levels of education, displacement status, and area of origin

Engaging with women collectives in the peace processes

(3) Facilitating access to funding, including by reviewing funding restrictions

Designing gender mainstreaming policies and programmes that address women’s specific and intersectional needs, including health and economic empowerment.

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7. ANNEX 1: PRIMARY DATA LIST (DATES & LOCATIONS)

KII 1, 20/05/2024, Kadogli (South Kordofan)

KII 2, 28/05/2024, Khartoum, displaced to El Geneina (West Darfur)

KII 3, 27/05/2024, Country level

KII 4, 27/05/2024, El Obeid (North Kordofan)

KII 5, 22/05/2024, Kassala (Kassala)

KII 6, 20/05/2024, Gedaref (Gedaref)

KII 7, 30/5/2024, Khartoum, displaced to Port Sudan (Red Sea)

KII 8, 22/05/24, Port Sudan (Red Sea)

KII 9, 27/05/2024, Sennar (Sennar)

KII 10, 21/05/24, Port Sudan (Red Sea)

KII 11, 27/05/2024, Nyala (South Darfur)

KII 12, 27/05/2024, El Damazin (Blue Nile)

KII 13, 10/06/24, Nyala (South Darfur)

FGD 1, 20/05/2024, Port Sudan (Red Sea)

FGD 2, 28/05/2024, Kassala (Kassala)

FGD 3, 28/05/2024, Sennar (Sennar)

Field notes, Samuel Hall National Researcher, 07/06/2024, Port Sudan (Red Sea)