Report: How women and girls bear the brunt of Sudan war

People who fled the Zamzam camp for the internally displaced after it fell under RSF control, queue for food rations in a makeshift encampment in an open field near the town of Tawila in Sudan's western Darfur. [File, Standard] When the day broke on Monday, July 16, 2023, Batul, a Sudanese nurse, was at her home in the Kafouri area of Khartoum with her daughter, who has a heart condition. She did not know that she would soon be among hundreds of women and girls detained by a gang she identified as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), enduring both physical and sexual assault. Batul, the mother of six, was taken from her home in Bahri North, blindfolded, and driven to Al-Amal Hospital in Khartoum North, where she was forced to provide medical assistance to a wounded RSF soldier. Despite not being a doctor, Batul could do little to help, and the soldier died the following morning. The soldiers grew angry, and by 10 a.m., eight of them entered her detention room, assaulting her physically and sexually for 40 days. "She finally died. Dr Tahani was killed on 18 July 2023 at 6:30 p.m.," Batul said, recounting the death of her friend, a doctor who was shot after refusing to be assaulted. Batul's ordeal is part of a broader pattern of sexual violence reported by Amnesty International. The rights group has documented over 16 incidents of sexual violence in Khartoum and surrounding regions, where RSF soldiers have assaulted women and girls. Amnesty also reports that sexual violence in Sudan dates back to 2004, particularly in the Darfur region, and the ongoing war has exacerbated these violations. Hayat, a pharmacist, was raped by RSF soldiers in her home as her children watched. "They said they were raping me because I couldn't save their soldier's life the previous day," she explained. Hayat had tried to help an injured RSF soldier, but he died shortly after. Suhair, a mother of four, was assaulted by four RSF soldiers who stormed her house during evening prayers. "They threw my baby away and squeezed my breasts. Another cut my back with a blade. They were asking about my husband," she noted. Amnesty International's Deputy Regional Campaigns Director, Flavia Mwangovya, said sexual violence against women and girls in Sudan has been a constant in conflicts, citing a previous report from 2004 on Darfur. She called on Sudanese authorities to ensure access to humanitarian services, including medical care for rape victims. She also urged the United Nations Security Council to expand the arms embargo and investigate those supplying weapons to the RSF, including countries like the UAE. "Arms are key in wars," Mwangovya noted, highlighting the role of foreign nations in the ongoing conflict. Amnesty has also noted the significant flow of weapons from China, Russia, Serbia, and other countries into Sudan, fuelling the conflict. Since the fighting began in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF, nearly 20,000 people have died, and over 11 million people have been displaced. The conflict has devastated civilian populations, with widespread reports of sexual violence and killings. According to UNICEF, at least 221 children have been raped in Sudan since January 2024, including children as young as one. Human Rights Watch also found that RSF fighters have used gang rape as a weapon of war in the conflict, forcing women into sexual slavery. "The flow of arms into Sudan puts civilians at risk," said Sarah Jackson, a researcher at Amnesty International, calling for the UN to implement a full arms embargo across Sudan. The Sudanese government's Unit of Combating Violence Against Women and Children (UAW) documented 1,138 incidents of sexual violence, including 134 cases of sexual slavery, between April 2023 and December 2024. These are only a fraction of the cases being reported across the country, with more being documented by the SIHA Network, which has recorded 346 cases of conflict-related sexual violence between 2023 and 2025. Most of these cases were attributed to the RSF, with others involving armed groups and the SAF. The reports indicate that women and girls continue to bear the brunt of the Sudan conflict, suffering abuse and violence while the international community struggles to address the situation.

Report: How women and girls bear the brunt of Sudan war

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