The Sudanese army has launched a major offensive in the capital, Khartoum, aiming to reclaim territory from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) amid the 17-month-long civil war. As the military targets RSF-held areas, civilians endure hardships, with many women risking their lives to secure food for their families.
At a market on the outskirts of Omdurman, women from RSF-controlled Dar es Salaam revealed their struggles after walking for four hours to access cheaper food. “We endure this hardship because we want to feed our children. We’re hungry, we need food,” one woman said. With husbands often confined to their homes for fear of violence or abduction, the women have become the primary providers, as per BBC
When asked about their safety, one woman said, "Where is the world? Why don’t you help us?". “There are so many women here who’ve been violated, but they don’t talk about it. What difference would it make anyway?”, she added.
Another woman shared her horrifying experience at the market, where she now works at a tea stall. Early in the war, armed men attempted to rape her daughters, aged 10 and 17. “I told the girls to stay behind me and I said to the RSF: 'If you want to rape anyone it has to be me,'” she told BBC.
Fatima, another woman at the market, spoke of the ongoing violence, recalling a 15-year-old girl who became pregnant after being raped by RSF soldiers. “During the war, since the RSF arrived, immediately we started hearing of rapes,” she said.
According to the UN, over 10.5 million people have fled their homes due to escalating violence, with rape being used systematically. The UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, condemned the use of sexual violence as “a weapon of war".
At a market on the outskirts of Omdurman, women from RSF-controlled Dar es Salaam revealed their struggles after walking for four hours to access cheaper food. “We endure this hardship because we want to feed our children. We’re hungry, we need food,” one woman said. With husbands often confined to their homes for fear of violence or abduction, the women have become the primary providers, as per BBC
When asked about their safety, one woman said, "Where is the world? Why don’t you help us?". “There are so many women here who’ve been violated, but they don’t talk about it. What difference would it make anyway?”, she added.
Another woman shared her horrifying experience at the market, where she now works at a tea stall. Early in the war, armed men attempted to rape her daughters, aged 10 and 17. “I told the girls to stay behind me and I said to the RSF: 'If you want to rape anyone it has to be me,'” she told BBC.
Fatima, another woman at the market, spoke of the ongoing violence, recalling a 15-year-old girl who became pregnant after being raped by RSF soldiers. “During the war, since the RSF arrived, immediately we started hearing of rapes,” she said.
According to the UN, over 10.5 million people have fled their homes due to escalating violence, with rape being used systematically. The UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, condemned the use of sexual violence as “a weapon of war".
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