African women write an open letter about sexual violence

SEXUAL violence against women and girls is seen as the defining feature of Sudan’s worsening civil war, evidence of the widespread use of rape as a weapon of war by all sides.

An open letter from 253 women in Africa and the diaspora calls for urgent international action in response to a conflict described as “fought on the bodies of women and girls.”

It refers to reports of gang rapes of girls as young as nine, and older women, including grandmothers, raped in front of their daughters and granddaughters. Male family members are often forced to watch. Women have also reported being targeted because of their ethnicity.

The open letter states: “Many of the survivors are from the Masalit community and are of African ethnicity. However, women from Arab tribes were also targeted if they were married to dark-skinned men or had darker-skinned children.

“There are also reports of sexual exploitation of women in Omdurman who are forced to have transactional sex with soldiers to receive humanitarian aid, or to gain access to abandoned properties where they look for items to sell to feed their families.”

Soldiers on all sides of the conflict are carrying out attacks with impunity, having learned from the recent conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray that they can do so, the signatories wrote. In Tigray, “sexual violence was systematically used as a weapon of war, with the genocidal characteristics of the events in Rwanda and Bosnia.”

The letter calls on the International Criminal Court to investigate violence against women and provide humanitarian assistance, including psychosocial support to survivors, in addition to including women in the peace talks.

“Finally, even though Sudanese women have been at the forefront of pro-democracy movements, they are woefully underrepresented in the ongoing peace negotiations. There must be a concerted effort to ensure that women are adequately represented, and that all negotiations include an acknowledgment of the devastating impact of CRSV (conflict-related sexual violence) on survivors and their families, and strong guarantees that all identified perpetrators are held accountable will be called. ”

In April 2023, civil war broke out in Sudan between the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces, which were about to merge as part of an agreement to transition to democracy (News, April 21, 2023). A UN fact-finding mission published last month found that both sides were guilty of sexual violence against civilians. These violations could amount to war crimes, the report found.

Attacks are reported to be increasing, especially in Khartoum, but also in Darfur and Kordofan.

Women were also disproportionately affected by the lack of sanitation, hygiene and water, and their lack of access to education increased their risk of becoming victims of child marriage and genital mutilation, said UN Women Regional Director Hodan Addou.

Dr. Khataza Gondwe, from Christian Solidarity Worldwide, called on the international community to take action: “Significant progress must also be made in tackling impunity surrounding CRSV and other serious violations, and in ensuring accountability. Women and girls in Sudan have shown remarkable resilience during this conflict. They must not be left behind and must play a central role in all aspects of the global response.”

Signatories include writers, lawyers, doctors, members of the Mother Union and teachers.

Sudan is described by aid organizations as the world’s most forgotten humanitarian crisis. The war has already killed tens of thousands of people and caused the world’s worst displacement and hunger crises.

More than 10 million people – about a fifth of the population – have been driven from their homes in the country, and another two million have fled to neighboring countries, the UN said. Half of those left behind face crisis levels of hunger. In August, famine was declared in one area of ​​Darfur, and experts have said there is a risk of famine in 13 other areas..