Report: Sudanese National Observatory for Human Rights

Rural women in Sudan are among those who bear the heaviest burdens of daily life. They are the backbone of the agricultural and livestock sectors and play an active role in food production and securing livelihoods for local communities. However, women in rural areas suffer from chronic marginalization and long-term deprivation of their basic rights as a result of the absence of fair government policies, poor services, and the ongoing war, which has exacerbated their suffering in an unprecedented manner.

Since the outbreak of war on April 15, 2023, the suffering of rural women has increased significantly. Many areas in Darfur, Kordofan, and Blue Nile have been subjected to barrel bombings by the Sudanese army, destroying villages and farms, killing livestock, and displacing thousands of women from their homes.

This violent targeting of populated civilian areas constituted a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and a direct attack on women’s right to life, safety, and food.

The daily hardship and suffering of rural women:

The countryside depends on women’s efforts in agriculture, livestock breeding, and food security, yet these women remain deprived of the most basic necessities of a dignified life.

Rural women wake up before sunrise, carrying their axes in their thin hands to plant and plow the land under the scorching sun. They then walk dozens of kilometers every day in search of water in areas where wells have dried up and streams have run dry.

Many travel these distances carrying their children on their backs, and on the way back they carry heavy loads of firewood and water on their heads, while their bare feet tread the path of patience on hard, rough ground.”

Most rural areas lack fresh water, gas, and modern cooking facilities, forcing women to rely on firewood and charcoal, exposing them to chest diseases as a result of smoke and chronic fatigue. Villages also lack basic health services, schools, and transportation, making access to healthcare or education a distant dream.

Rural women and their role in supporting the Sudanese economy:

Despite the harshness of daily life and the drudgery of work, rural women in Sudan remain a pillar of the local economy, playing a pivotal role in the agricultural and livestock sectors. They cultivate the land, harvest crops, tend livestock, and produce dairy, meat, and leather, contributing through their silent efforts to drive production and support both rural and urban markets.

It is estimated that the majority of agricultural and food production in rural areas depends on the manual labor of women, who plow the land, plant seeds, harvest crops, and care for livestock without fair financial compensation or social protection. However, their efforts remain officially unrecognized and do not receive the appreciation they deserve from the state or economic institutions.

The absence of government action has revealed a clear failure to adopt policies that take into account the needs of rural women historically. Previous governments have not implemented national plans for women’s empowerment or international agreements they have ratified, such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

Currently, instead of providing urgent support to women farmers and herders who have lost their sources of income due to the bombing, the authorities are preoccupied with the military conflict, ignoring their responsibility towards vulnerable groups that form the basis of rural society.

Rural women pay the price for official neglect:

Today, rural women in Sudan stand on the brink of suffering and resilience at the same time. They cultivate the land and feed the community, but in return they find no one to protect them or appreciate their efforts. They live on the margins, in the shadow of a war that has turned villages to ashes and fields to abandoned wastelands.

While the government issues statements about development and peace, women in rural areas remain homeless, without services, and without a voice. How many rural mothers have lost their farms, how many girls have been denied education, and how many women have been forced to flee under a barrage of bombs?

Rural women between displacement and insecurity:

The suffering of rural women has not stopped at poverty and daily fatigue but has gone beyond that to forced displacement and mass migration as a result of the ongoing war in Sudan. Air raids and indiscriminate shelling have targeted large areas of the countryside, destroying villages, farms, and water sources, forcing thousands of women to leave their homes and farmlands and seek refuge in safer areas or neighboring countries.

Many women have been forced to walk long distances with their children in extremely harsh conditions, without adequate food, shelter, or health care. In displacement camps, their suffering continues due to a lack of privacy, inadequate services, and a lack of protection from violence and exploitation. Many have lost their only source of livelihood, and their lives have shifted from productivity and work to a struggle for survival.

This forced displacement has not only destroyed women’s lives, but also weakened the rural economy, which women were the backbone of, and deprived the country of enormous productive capacity that could have contributed to development and stability.

The bombing and displacement of rural women is a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and reveals the Sudanese government’s failure to protect them.”

It reveals the Sudanese government’s failure to protect civilians, especially women who face war with patience and silence.

Sudanese rural women have proven to be the backbone of the local economy and the pillar of food security, despite suffering from marginalization, displacement, and deprivation of the most basic rights and services. Therefore, the state’s duty today is not limited to symbolic recognition of their role, but requires real practical steps to empower them by supporting them with agricultural projects, providing modern means of production, securing water and health services, guaranteeing a stable income that reflects society’s appreciation of their efforts, and taking the necessary measures to protect them and their families in rural areas.

Empowering rural women means empowering the nation, and we therefore call on the Sudanese government to work hard to alleviate the suffering of rural women, protect them from the ravages of war, and recognize their contribution to building the national economy.

With love and praise, the Observatory extends its sincere thanks and appreciation to Sudanese rural women for their resilience and endurance in the face of difficulties and obstacles, despite historically harsh conditions and, in particular, the challenges of war.”