Today, African bosses are convened on the sidelines of the African Union summons in Addis Abeba to discuss the devastating conflict between Sudan and designed strategies for attempting and putting the country on the road to peace and stability.
It is not surprising that Sudan remains at the top of the continent’s agenda. For almost two years in the war, with tens of thousands of dead and millions of displaced, the country is now the scene of one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises.
In the center of this increasing crisis are Sudan women and girls, who face multiple threats because of the widespread weapons of rape within the conflict.
I just came back from Renka, a city in neighboring South Sudan, where more than a million people fleeing the war, including women and girls who survived the worst imaginative acts of violence, sought refuge.
In narrow paths between the improvised tents they now call “home”, I talked to many of them and listened to their stories of pain, loss and broken dreams.
Aphrah*, a fifteen -year -old girl whose youthful eyes wear deep pain outside her age, boldly told me about a dark night in September that changed her life forever.
She said she was alone with her three brothers and sisters – at the age of seven, four and two – in their family home in Khartoum. The war was closer and closer, and her mother left to try to get funding for a family escape to the south.
First they heard shots in the distance, and then witnessed armed men, breaking into nearby houses, beat and shooting in neighbors.
In the end, the two men broke the front door, searched the house and realized that Afrah was alone with their brothers and sisters. They pointed the gun at her and ordered the brothers, threatening to kill them all if she refused to follow their commands.
Then they turned for almost two hours to rape it. She said she tried to stay as quiet as possible, afraid of making too much noise she could hurt her brothers. The soldiers eventually left.
Afrah cleaned, checked her brothers and sisters, and continued to wait for her mother’s return. When her mom returned home a few hours later and saw what the soldiers had done to her neighbors, she was overwhelmed with sadness. Afrah decided not to tell her what she had endured to protect her from further suffering.
Afrah is just one of thousands of women and girls in Sudan who experienced sexual violence in the hands of fighters. Indeed, rape has become the usual weapon of war in Sudan. The perpetrators barely face any responsibility, while the survivors remain to continue their lives, often in neglected refugee camps, with deep physical and psychological scars and without significant support.
Sudanese war displaced more than 11 million people, including 5.8 million women and girls. Many of them were undergoing sexual violence during the war, and they continue to face the difficult challenges at their refuge. Even those who entered the neighboring countries, such as southern Sudan and Chad, are not safe and carefully care. They have little money or resources, and they do not have access to appropriate health care. There is rarely someone who helps them to process and overcome their trauma.
In most cases, the only support is available to these women with several safe spaces created by non -governmental organizations, where they can share their experiences with each other and get basic medical care.
Women and girls like Afrah, who endured the worst horrors of the Sudan War, deserve protection and security. The leaders who meet at Addis Ababi today must focus them into their discussions and immediately take action to provide their long -term care and well -being. The care of survivors is a crucial step in making this conflict to the final end – only when women and girls like Afrah are safe and care about Sudan can they begin to treat.
Today, Africa leaders must go beyond empty words and take concrete measures to protect women and girls of Sudan. They must press all sides to conflict to respect international law and provide a safe, unlimited humanitarian approach to all survivors from sexual violence. Those in positions of power have neglected the vicious weapon of rape in this conflict for too long. This is time to act. Afrah and thousands of others like her urgently need help. We must not neglect their condition.
* The name was changed to protect confidentiality.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s and do not reflect the editorial position of Al Jazeere.
