Aya Ibrahim

Sudan – Sudanese women are among the groups most affected by the ongoing conflict in their country between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces since April 2023. They have endured various forms of suffering, including rape crimes that have become a major source of fear in a society where acceptance is difficult. Many have been forced to conceal these crimes out of fear of harsh social judgment.

(N.M.), who refused to reveal her identity and resides in the Abu Qouta area in Al-Jazira State—where the Rapid Support Forces had controlled large areas before the army regained them—said that three RSF soldiers stormed their home, conducted a thorough search, and demanded money and gold but found none.

She explained that she was at home with her mother and her brothers’ wives. “The soldiers, under threat of weapons and beating, raped me, in addition to raping my sisters-in-law.”

Fatima Ibrahim, who is married and a mother of two, recounted the tragedy of two of her sisters who were raped by soldiers affiliated with the Rapid Support Forces. She said she never expected what happened to them and hoped such an ordeal would never happen to any other family.

She explained that in the middle of one night, seven RSF soldiers stormed their house. Two of them held her father and brother at gunpoint, while three entered the rooms of her and her two sisters. “I was not afraid for myself, but I feared for my sisters who were raped,” she said, noting that they went through severe psychological distress afterward. “I did not expect them to survive; they locked themselves in a room for seven days.” She called for the perpetrators of these crimes to be punished and for the victims to be granted their rights.

Dina Mustafa, who works in the nursing department at a hospital in Al-Jazira State, said she witnessed several rape cases firsthand. She stated that three sisters, aged between 18 and 35, were brutally gang-raped in front of their parents, who fell unconscious due to the inhumane scene. The youngest daughter suffered bleeding and complete isolation and became unable to reintegrate into society, unlike her two sisters who responded to psychological therapy sessions.

She added that many families whose daughters were raped have been unable to access support, and that 80% of families conceal the crime out of fear of social stigma. She stressed the need to establish comprehensive security, enforce law and order, and punish criminals, emphasizing that “ending rape crimes is linked to imposing stricter penalties.”