Rights, Freedom and the Rule of Law
VOLUME 27, NUMBER 1, FEBRUARY 2005
 Asha El-Karib and women of the El Salaam refugee camp, Sudan |
El Salaam camp. Almost 120,000 people live here in the dry emptiness on the outskirts of Omdurman, near the Sudanese capital of Khartoum. There are no roads, no trees, and no water. Only shacks made with mud bricks, or, for the "less fortunate," cardboard and plastic.
The majority of the people here are women and children from various ethnic groups, including Dinka, Nuer, Nuba, Shoulouk, and Zandi. They have fled from war, violence, drought, and hunger. Many have been here for ten years or more. Humanitarian agencies provide the people with food, water, and other essentials. The camp is under government control - the same government that contributed to the conflict.
In the camp, we are greeted with music, dance, and a traditional Nuba coffee ritual. In the heat of the midday sun, differences melt in this expression of sharing and hope. Aziza, a Nuba woman, expresses a common dream: "We want to live in peace, with no ethnic conflicts, one people working together."
In Sudan today, civil rights are more an aspiration than a reality - women's rights even more so. But this was not always the case. Until the late 1970s, the Sudanese women's movement was strong and vibrant. Women had access to higher education, and could actively participate in the social and political life of their country. This situation changed dramatically in the early 1980s with the imposition of Sharia law by the military regime. Then, in 1989, the current government took power, destroying its political rivals, driving the women's movement underground.
In the years since, the situation has deteriorated. Educated women who had occupied senior positions in government were forced to resign or were demoted. Women now require permission from their male "guardian" - husband, father, brother, or even son - to travel outside the country. The government maintains tight control over women through the imposition of a strict dress code, and has failed to address the widespread practices of female genital mutilation and early marriage for girls, some as young as ten. The conf lict between Northern and Southern Sudan is ongoing, and other serious conflicts have broken out, particularly in the western province of Darfur. People are being killed and displaced. Women and girls are raped, and often left alone to take care of their families and rebuild their communities.
Despite this grim reality, Sudanese women are resilient, driven by their memories of the past. In a sense, women hide in the open. Draped in the traditional colourful torha or scarf, activists from women's groups, including Inter Pares counterparts, work to transform their society. Their goal is for women to be active citizens, participating fully in the social, cultural, and political life of their country. With courage and determination, these women challenge fundamentalism in its various forms - religious, cultural, and patriarchal. They proudly defend and promote human rights and women's rights. Today, the women's movement is at the heart of civil society efforts to bring about democracy, justice, and peace for all.
Inter Pares supports people's struggles for their rights, freedom, and the rule of law in many parts of the world. Such actions seek to create a world where there is one universal standard of opportunity and dignity for all. We believe that every person has the "right to be." Every person and every community has a right to live, a right to a quality of life, to live decently and with dignity, and to develop their full creativity and potential. This "right to be" includes, at a minimum, the right not to be killed by the state, or its military proxies. It is also the right to be free, to enjoy the benefits of citizenship, to be full participants in a free and equal society, to resist oppression, and promote justice. In this Bulletin, we provide you with some examples of people's struggles for these rights and freedoms.
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| Reviewed January 31, 2005 |  |
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