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Transcript/Script((PLAYBOOK SLUG: Sudan War Women (TVR)
HEADLINE: Sudanese Women Describe their Suffering Since War Broke Out in April
TEASER: The women say they feel their voices are being silenced
PUBLISHED AT: 11/28/2023 at 1:10pm
BYLINE: Mariama Diallo
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Nairobi, Kenya
VIDEOGRAPHER: Amos Wangua
PRODUCER: Amos Wangua
SCRIPT EDITORS: pcd
VIDEO SOURCES: VOA original, Wires
PLATFORMS: WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO _X_
TRT: 3:37
VID APPROVED BY: MAS
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES: ))
((INTRO))
[[Sudanese women of various backgrounds recently gathered in Nairobi to discuss the brutal war that has ravaged their country the past seven months. With no end in sight, they feel their voices have been silenced and they yearn to contribute to resolving the conflict that has killed thousands and displaced millions since April 15. VOA Nairobi Bureau Chief Mariama Diallo was there and has this report.]]
((NAT POP.... Sudan revolution/demanding transition to civilian rule))
((NARRATOR))
((Courtesy: SIHA))
Women in Sudan were a big part of a revolution that helped end three decades
((end courtesy))
of autocratic rule by former Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir.
Their push for a transition to a civilian government was cut short when war broke out seven months ago between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary unit. Thousands are dead, millions are displaced, and there’s no end in sight.
((Hala Al-Karib, SIHA Regional Director))
“Since April 15th, voices of civilians and voices of women have been completely sabotaged. We didn’t have a space to tell our story, to speak about our suffering.”
((NARRATOR))
Hala Al-Karib is with the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA).
She says her organization convened a 2-day summit in Nairobi because it’s important to bring Sudanese women and civil society groups together.
((Hala Al-Karib, SIHA Regional Director))
“We have participants who came from conflict zones and have endured living under fire and being exposed to all kinds of violence for the past 7 months. It’s really critical
to listen to their stories, to listen to their experiences and to listen to their positions and views.”
((NARRATOR))
Some participants spent 3 to 10 days on the road to reach Nairobi, including Nidal Usman Mosa who runs the South Khartoum Kandakat grassroots organization.
((Nidal Usman Mosa, South Khartoum Kandakat))
“We’ve faced much obstacles: displacements, refugees, rape, violence. // We missed our jobs, our children missed their education // and we missed our voice in this war.”
((NARRATOR))
Alaweya Baher Eldin, a former social worker, now a refugee in neighboring Chad had to leave her home of El Geneina in West Darfur where about 700 people were reportedly killed earlier this month after clashes between SAF and the RSF according to the International Organization for Migration.
((Alaweya Baher Eldin, Sudanese Refugee in Chad))
“It’s so difficult, the situation there [is] so difficult for women, believe me.”
((NARRATOR))
The fighting in Sudan has made it hard to reach certain areas says Nada Fadul, who’s with SUDRO, the Sustainable Development Response Organization. She’s based in the United States.
((NARRATOR))
Fadul says it’s imperative the women unite toward peace and how to sustain it, so the reality on the ground doesn’t happen again.
((Nada Fadul, Sustainable Development Response Organization))
“We are talking about people with diabetes for example who are not able to get insulin to treat their diabetes. We are talking about kids with malaria not able to get anti malaria treatments. We are talking about women not able to get simple menstrual hygiene products to be able to go through that with dignity.”
((NARRATOR))
Others participating in the conference as a show of support included the Netherlands Chargé D’affaires to Sudan Wierish Ramsoekh, now living in Nairobi, who said the challenge for these women is to develop a political strategy for getting a seat at the negotiation table.
((Wierish Ramsoekh, Netherlands Chargé D’affaires to Sudan))
“There’s an extra hurdle for women to be taken that is, not only to formulate // their vision of what they want for women in Sudan but also to be heard and I like the spirit this morning where it was said, you don’t wait until you get invited, you just go and take it.”
((MARIAMA DIALLO VOANEWS NAIROBI))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateNovember 28, 2023 13:52 EST
BylineMariama Diallo
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English, US Agency for Global Media
