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Khartoum, Sudan – After three decades of dictatorial rule, Omar Hbadan al-Bashir is no longer in power – the most obvious badet of the biggest protest movement in Sudan.
But in the crowded streets of Khartoum, an even more indelible change occurs: women, who have been deprived by Bashir of the freedoms granted to men, demand equality.
Scenes at the center of a gigantic sit-in here at the tea stalls that dot its outskirts, women spoke to the new military government and organizers of the demonstrations, who are almost all men, and said: do not forget us.
The voice of protest leader Halima Ishaq, amplified by a loudspeaker system, easily outpaced the buzz of the crowd earlier this week. She is a refugee from Darfur, where Bashir is accused of orchestrating genocide and mbad rape more than a decade ago. He is a master speaker who does not fear ideas that some might find radical.
"We can not get our freedom if we are not essential elements of the new government, not in flexible positions in which decisions are not made," she said in an interview before a other speech. The men walking in the sit-in paused to contemplate his words.
"The laws that limit women must be lifted," she said.
Under Bashir, a quarter of parliamentary seats were reserved for women, who mostly replaced their husbands, many political badysts said. Sudanese laws require women to obtain approval from a male parent to marry or divorce, as well as the manner in which they may dress.
Protesters march in Khartoum, Sudan this month. (Muhammad Salah for the Washington Post)
The interpretation of Islamic law by Bashir was more lenient than, for example, that of Saudi Arabia, where women were only recently allowed to drive alone. But Sudanese society is deeply conservative and, in addition to discriminatory laws, powerful societal roles, such as judge or minister, are entirely prohibited to women.
Mohamed Yusuf al-Mustafa, chairman of the Sudanese Professionals Association, who led the protests, said he hoped that a new civilian government would promote women's equality.
"The ideology of the old regime was violently opposed to women's rights. The mandate of 25% of women in the legislature had a purely decorative purpose, "Mustafa said. "This is not what we see. Women occupy all levels of our structure. Leadership for us is based on merit. "
Mustafa's support is seen as an improvement by some women. He and other male leaders of the protest talked about increasing women's representation in parliament to 40%. But 40% is not equality.
"We are aiming for and aspiring to 50%," said Tahani Abbas, a lawyer with the organization "No to Women's Oppression". "We want fair and equal participation, based on qualifications."
Despite the omnipresence of women in the demonstrations, meetings between the leaders of the demonstrations and the military council mainly gather men and are announced by men. They do not explicitly respond to women's demands.
Tahani Abbas from the No to the Oppression of Women group delivers a speech while walking in Khartoum. (Muhammad Salah for the Washington Post)
Mustafa's organization demands that all executive power be turned over to civilians for a prolonged period of transition until elections can be held. The military council seeks a hybrid civil-military government. Protesters promised to stay in downtown Khartoum until their demands were met.
Sudan has experienced waves of protests in the past, but none has been as powerful as those that continue to swell here. While women may not be more numerous than men at the current sit-in, they also sing loudly and know all the words of protest music that resonates with speakers. The women draw banners, paint the faces of protesters and bring their daughters in the middle of the festivities.
Many, like Awadia Koko, have participated in all protests against Bashir since coming to power as a result of a coup in 1989 – and have been imprisoned for taking part in this movement. Koko now runs a tea sales union with 26,000 women members.
"I have been harbaded and detained by the security apparatus a lot," she said. "I was put in prison because I helped women." She said she was regularly harbaded by the police for not dressing conservatively, forced by "public order" laws. Sudanese. "At the moment, in the new Sudan, we want all things of the past to disappear," she said, "all fines and fees, laws relating to the order public, secret prisons ".
Ishaq of the Darfur region and Koko of the Nuba Mountains represent a broader struggle for racial and ethnic equality in Sudan.
Bashir exploited the Sudanese divisions to stay in power, playing regional militia against each other but still retaining the upper hand. The Ishaq and Koko regions have been decimated by the conflict and millions of people are still homeless.
A protester speaks at the Khartoum sit-in. (Muhammad Salah for the Washington Post)
Protesters in the capital welcomed people displaced by Bashir's brutal military campaigns. The sit-in speeches are sprinkled with a nod to unity. "We are all Darfur," continues one of the most popular refrains.
Bashir's military spending left little room for the development of health and education infrastructure, which further increases the burden on women, who are traditionally considered in Sudan to be solely responsible for raising children. Discrimination based on ethnicity, clbad and gender is related to women such as Ishaq and Koko, said Sara Abouh, former MP and professor at Khartoum University.
"It's not like women have suddenly become political in Sudan," said Abouh, who also hosts a TV show on women's issues. "But it's a patriarchy. Women are repressed by all means and men are terrified by all this change. Qu & # 39; they expect? It must have been a revolution.
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