The situation of women in Sudan is largely influenced by Islamic traditions, which have been a major force in the country since the 15th century. Muslims comprise about 80 per cent of the total population.
When the country gained independence in 1956, the government modernised many policies, often in favour of women. In 1960, new laws were adopted to assure the free consent of women prior to marriage and to give women equal right to file for divorce, obtain the custody of children and receive child support from their ex-husbands. During this period, the enrolment rates of girls in primary and secondary schools increased rapidly.
In 1983, an Islamic party came to power and quickly enforced the Islamic Sharia law across the country (including the non-Muslim population), often with the effect of re-instating discriminatory practices. The Family Code was revised to respect strictly provisions of Sharia and several measures reduced civil liberties of women.
Women in Sudan have a very low level of legal protection in relation to family matters. At time of publication, no information was available regarding laws that define a legal minimum age of marriage. According to available statistics, early marriage appears to be widespread. A 2004 United Nations report estimated that 21 per cent of girls between 15 and 19 years of age were married, divorced or widowed. This is significantly lower than the figure of 37 per cent stated in the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) but the difference is explained by the methodology: the DHS statistics account for both registered marriages and unmarried couples living together.
In accordance with Islamic Sharia law, polygamy is legal in Sudan as is repudiation. Divorce proceedings discriminate against women in that wives have the right to file for divorce but have a much more difficult time obtaining one. Moreover, women almost never exercise this right because initiating divorce is considered a dreadful disgrace for their families.
By law, parental authority is granted solely to fathers. In the event of divorce, young children usually remain with their mothers, but custody automatically reverts to fathers when sons reach the age of 6 years and daughters reach 8 years.
Sudan follows Islamic law, which provides for detailed and complex calculations of inheritance shares. Women may inherit from their fathers, mothers, husbands or children and, under certain conditions, from other family members. However, their share is generally smaller than that to which men are entitled. Daughters, for example, typically inherit half as much as sons. A widow who has no child inherits one-quarter of her husband’s assets; the share is reduced to one-eighth if they are children. This is commonly justified by the argument that women have no financial responsibility towards their husbands and children. Inheritance laws have a negative effect on the ability to widows to exercise their legal ownership rights.
Women in Sudan have a very low level of protection for their physical integrity. To date, there are no specific laws prohibiting violence against women, including domestic violence, which is common. Women who file claims are subject to accusations of lying, and the police normally do not intervene.
Drawn out civil war has made Sudanese women even more vulnerable to violence outside the home. In the South, displaced women are at high risk for sexual abuse and rape. In addition, both women and children face the threat of seizure by military forces, followed by sale into “domestic servanthood” in the north and central regions – or more realistically, slavery. The new interim Constitution of 2005 prohibits slavery, but has yet to effect any change in practice.
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is widespread in Sudan: according to the news agency AFROL, about 90 per cent of female have undergone FGM in its most severe form (that is, infibulation).
There is some evidence to suggest that Sudan is a country of concern in relation to missing women. Traditional norms hold that only mothers of sons merit social respect, thus there is a strong preference for sons and mothers tend to provide better care to young boys than to young girls.
Women in Sudan have virtually no legal right to ownership. They are restricted from having access to land, even in the form of tenancy. Their access to property other than land is equally restricted in that although women can possess assets, it is virtually impossible for them to manage such assets freely. According to Sharia law, women must always defer to their husbands or male guardians in administering their assets. Widows cannot even manage inherited assets; they must transfer the administration to sons or other male family members.
Similarly, women have no access to bank loans; access to all forms of credit is reserved only for men.
Women in Sudan face a wide range of restriction to their civil liberties. In fact, the government recently reduced women’s freedom of movement even further by mandating that women and men must form two queues while waiting at public offices. On public buses, women must stand separately in the back. After marriage, women are expected to remain at home to care for their children. Public opinion generally condemns mothers who leave their children at home in order to work outside the home.
The government also restricts women’s freedom of dress. In 1983, the Islamic government enforced the practice of wearing veils for all women, including non-Muslims. In the country’s capital Khartoum, the restrictions became even more severe in 1991 when the government imposed the wearing of opaque clothes from head to feet. These restrictions are a stark contrast to the 1960s, a period during which women typically wore veils in villages but felt free to adopt western styles of dress in larger towns and cities.
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