Born from the violent clashes of two opposing forces, the Sudan Humanitarian Crisis has grown to become one of the most pressing humanitarian issues since its inception on April 15, 2023.
Grappling with violence and mass displacement before the conflict, the only aspect of life that has changed for the people of Sudan is the extremity of their circumstances.
The eruption of a military coup following the removal of a long-time authoritarian leader, Omar al-Bashir, ensured the violence of two antagonistic forces: the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).
With Sudan housing numerous refugees fleeing from conflict existing in their respective countries, the violence following the strife has created mass displacement—a defining characteristic of the crisis.
“This conflict exacerbated many of Sudan’s existing challenges, including ongoing conflicts, disease outbreaks, economic and political instability, and climate emergencies,” the UN Refugee Agency said.
Coupled with the extreme weather conditions Sudan recently experienced, the living conditions of refugees across the nation have exponentially deteriorated.
“Sudan has also been heavily impacted by severe weather events linked to climate change, including floods and droughts,” The UN Refugee Agency said. “These events have adversely affected hundreds of thousands of individuals throughout the country, leading to crop and livestock destruction and exacerbating food insecurity for families.”
Characterizing the crisis is the gender gap within the population of refugees, with the ratio of women to men leaning heavily towards women.
According to NPR, the experiences of many of these women in conflict are influenced by the Sudan’s culture and intersectionality—the compounded experiences of identities intersecting with one another.
“Women are oppressed in many different ways. They’re oppressed by not having the skill. They’re oppressed by not being part of the economy,” social studies teacher Nicole Harner said. “They’re oppressed by being in a refugee camp that has no infrastructure or an economy, and they’re oppressed by legality, where the government doesn’t allow them to even have the opportunity to be able to do that because it’s all bound to opportunity.”
Across cultures, women have historically been victims of war and Sudan is no exception.
“There are also a lot of pregnant women here, or, you know, women who have very young babies,” NPR’s Fatma Tanis said. “Both Sudanese women and aid organizations told me that these are pregnancies from rape. You can see it in people’s faces. The women I spoke with – they appeared to be in shock. They had seen horrific things but were describing them to me with flat voices and not much emotion.”
For women across the nation, aid from foreign countries and organizations is the primary contributor to their survival.
According to Harner, women are the “main receivers” of aid because they make up the majority of refugee camps and victimization.