Sudan

Citation:

Musa, Suad M. E. 2018. Hawks and Doves in Sudan's Armed Conflict: Al-Hakkamat Baggara Women of Darfur. Boydell & Brewer.

Author: Suad M. E. Musa

Keywords: Eastern Africa series, African studies, politics & economics, women's & gender studies

Annotation:

Topics: Armed Conflict, Gender, Women, Governance, Post-Conflict, Peacebuilding Regions: Africa, East Africa Countries: Sudan

Year: 2018

Citation:

Rees, Susan J., Jane R. Fisher, Zachary Steel, Mohammed Mohsin, Nawal Nadar, Batool Moussa, Fatima Hassoun, Mariam Yousif, Yalini Krishna, Batoul Khalil, Jok Mugo, Alvin Kuowei, Louis Klein, and Derrick Silove. 2019. "Prevalence and Risk Factors of Major Depressive Disorder Among Women at Public Antenatal Clinics from Refugee, Conflict-Affected, and Australian-Born Backgrounds." JAMA Network Open 2 (5).

Authors: Susan J. Rees, Jane R. Fisher, Zachary Steel, Mohammed Mohsin, Nawal Nadar, Batool Moussa, Fatima Hassoun, Mariam Yousif, Yalini Krishna, Batoul Khalil, Jok Mugo, Alvin Kouwei Tay, Louis Klein, Derrick Silove

Abstract:

Importance: Pregnancy may increase the risk of depression among women who self-identify as refugees and have resettled in high-income countries. To our knowledge, no large systematic studies among women with refugee backgrounds in the antenatal period have been conducted.

Objectives: To compare the prevalence of major depressive disorder (MDD), trauma exposure, and other psychosocial risk factors among women who identify as refugees, women from the same conflict-affected countries, and women from the host nation and to test whether self-identification as a refugee indicates greater likelihood of prevalence and risk.

Design, Setting and Participants: This cross-sectional study was undertaken in 3 public antenatal clinics in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, between January 2015 and December 2016. Overall, 1335 women (685 consecutively enrolled from conflict-affected backgrounds and 650 randomly selected from the host nation) participated. Data analysis was undertaken between June and September 2018.

Exposures: One-hour interviews covering mental health, intimate partner violence, and other social measures.

Main Outcome and Measures: World Health Organization measure for intimate partner violence and the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fourth Edition) for MDD. To make a diagnosis, 1 of 2 items relating to being consistently depressed for 2 weeks and 3 further symptoms that cause personal distress or psychosocial dysfunction were endorsed.

Results: Overall, 1335 women (84.8% overall response rate), comprising 685 (51.3%) from conflictaffected countries (women self-identifying as refugees: 289 [42.2%]) and 650 (48.7%) from the host nation, participated. The mean (SD) age was 29.7 (5.4) years among women from conflictaffected backgrounds and 29.0 (5.5) years among women born in the host nation. Conflict-affected countries included Iraq (260 [38.0%]), Lebanon (125 [18.2%]), Sri Lanka (71 [10.4%]), and Sudan (66 [9.6%]). Women who identified as refugees reported higher exposure to 2 to 3 (67 [23.2%]) and 4 or more (19 [6.6%]) general traumatic events compared with women from the host nation (103 [15.8%] and 21 [3.2%], respectively). Women who identified as refugees also reported higher exposure to 1 (147 [50.9%]) and 2 or more (97 [33.6%]) refugee-related traumatic events compared with women from the host nation (86 [13.2%] and 20 [3.1%], respectively). Women who identified as refugees reported higher rates of psychological intimate partner violence than women born in the host nation (124 [42.9%] vs 133 [20.5%]; P < .001). Women who identified as refugees were less likely to identify 5 or more supportive family or friends compared with women born in the host nation (36 [12.5%] vs 297 [45.7%]; P < .001). A greater proportion of women who identified as refugees reported experiencing 3 or more financial stressors compared with women born in the host nation (65 [22.5%] vs 41 [6.3%]; P < .001). Women who identified as refugees had the highest prevalence of MDD (94 [32.5%]), followed by women from other conflict-affected backgrounds (78 [19.7%]), and women born in the host nation (94 [14.5%]).

Conclusion and Relevance: Women identifying as refugees reported a higher prevalence of MDD and all the indicators of adversity related to that disorder. Even after risk factors were accounted for, refugee status was associated with risk of MDD. Assessing whether women attending an antenatal clinic self-identify as refugees may offer an important indicator of risk of MDD and a range of associated psychosocial adversities.

Topics: Displacement & Migration, Refugees, Conflict, Domestic Violence, Gender, Women, Health, Mental Health, Reproductive Health, Trauma Regions: Africa, MENA, East Africa, Asia, Middle East, South Asia, Oceania Countries: Australia, Iraq, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Sudan

Year: 2019

Citation:

Assal, Munzoul. 2012. "Social and Policy Aspects of Gender and Migration in Sudan." The Ahfad Journal 29 (2): 25-37.

Author: Munzoul Assal

Abstract:

Sudan is both a sending and a receiving country for economic as well as forced migrants (refugees). Out-migration from Sudan is caused by conflict and political instability, but also by the desire of Sudanese migrants to have better economic and educational opportunities abroad and, in some cases, for family reunification purposes. Migrants coming to Sudan are either refugees or recent voluntary migrants following oil exploration and the signing of the peace agreements in 2005. The same causes that result in the migration of Sudanese also lead to foreigners coming to Sudan. Statistics show that Asians represent the majority of economic migrants in Sudan, while Ethiopians and Eritreans represent the overwhelming majority of refugees in the country. The paper employs the analytic review and a meta analytic methods to address foreign migrants' influx to the Sudan, the gender aspect and the relevant policies. Findings revealed that migration issues are dealt with through legal frameworks that regulate the presence and work of foreigners, and travel matters of nationals. But the laws are not gender sensitive and do not address the concerns of migrants generally and migrant women in particular. There is a need for legal reform and there is also a need for the introduction of policies or programs that are gender sensitive when dealing with migration issues. Sudan needs to enter into bilateral agreements with receiving countries, to ensure the protection of migrant Sudanese women and also foreign migrant women in Sudan.

Keywords: policy aspects of migration, migrant, influx, gender and migration, internally displaced persons (IDPs), refugees, gender sensitive laws

Topics: Displacement & Migration, Migration, Forced Migration, IDPs, Refugees, Economies, Gender Regions: Africa, East Africa Countries: Sudan

Year: 2012

Citation:

Westendorf, Jasmine-Kim. 2018. "Peace Negotiations in the Political Marketplace: The Implications of Women's Exclusion in the Sudan-South Sudan Peace Process." Australian Journal of International Affairs 72 (5): 433-54. 

Author: Jasmine-Kim Westendorf

Abstract:

This article investigates the implications of women’s exclusion for the nature and durability of peace processes, and whether factors that undermine peace consolidation post-settlement might be prevented through more inclusive peacemaking. It examines the Sudan-South Sudan peace process that produced the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the roles women played in peacemaking and their exclusion from official negotiations, and the sources of insecurity post-CPA. South Sudan’s peace process shows that the exclusion of women can be understood as a canary in a coal mine: a highly visible marker of the broader exclusivity of such processes, and the complex dynamics of elite capture in war and peace processes. Women’s exclusion was the product of the region’s political marketplace, in which power and authority is secured by elites through violence and bargaining, to the exclusion of other groups. By understanding exclusion as a deliberate strategic tactic that extends from war into peacetime, I argue that the exclusion of women is not the reason why peace processes fail in and of itself, but rather the product of elite ownership of peace processes and the structure of many peace processes that facilitates and rewards such ownership, with serious consequences for the sustainability of peace post-settlement.

Keywords: South Sudan, inclusivity, exclusivity, women, peace and security, Peace Negotiations, political marketplace

Topics: Conflict, Gender, Women, Peace and Security, Post-Conflict, Peace Processes Regions: Africa, East Africa Countries: South Sudan, Sudan

Year: 2018

Citation:

Kewir, Kiven James, and Seble Menberu Gebremichael. 2020. "Gender in Peacekeeping Operations: A Phenomenological Study of the Experiences of Ethiopian Female Peacekeepers in Abyei." Africa Insight 49 (3): 60-71.

Authors: Kiven James Kewir, Seble Menburu Gebremichael

Abstract:

This paper analyses the role of gender in peacekeeping operations through a review of women’s experiences in the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA). This mission is dominated by Ethiopian peacekeepers and Ethiopia has also contributed the largest number of female peacekeepers (FPKs) to the mission since 2013. In spite of this, the proportion of female troops in UNISFA remains very low. We base our analysis on 15 in-depth field interviews, two focusgroup discussions, and direct observation done between 22 July 2015 and 2 August 2015. Traditional security studies have been criticised for being gender blind and state-centric. Using the human security conception of security and standpoint feminism as a framework for analysis, this study reveals that efforts made for the full integration of women in peace operations by the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) have been thwarted by the persistence of negative stereotypes and the working conditions of FPKs in Abyei.

Topics: Feminisms, Gender, Women, International Organizations, Peacekeeping, Security, Human Security Regions: Africa, East Africa Countries: Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan

Year: 2020

Citation:

Ndonga, Eunice M. 2017. "Gender Mainstreaming in the IGAD II SUDAN Peace Process." International Journal of Gender Studies 1 (2): 1-19. 

Author: Eunice M. Ndonga

Abstract:

Gender mainstreaming is generally defined as a strategy for making women’s as well as men’s concerns and experiences an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes in all political, economic and societal spheres so that women and men benefit equally and inequality is not perpetuated.This requires careful consideration of the implications, for both women and men, of actions, policies and programmes. In earlier peace processes, there was no particular attention to women’s needs, experiences and capacities, and thus ‘gender mainstreaming’ came to be used to mean a focus on so-called ‘women’s issues’. But current research and policy tend to include men’s special needs as well, and point to the fact that sustainable peace can be obtained only if both women’s and men’s issues are taken into consideration. 

Keywords: gender, mainstreaming, Sudan peace process, IGAD II

Topics: Gender, Gender Mainstreaming, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Peace Processes Regions: Africa, East Africa Countries: South Sudan, Sudan

Year: 2017

Citation:

Amodu, Oluwakemi C., Magdalena S. Richter, and Bukola O. Salami. 2020. "A Scoping Review of the Health of Conflict-Induced Internally Displaced Women in Africa." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 17 (4): 1-21. 

Authors: Oluwakemi C. Amodu, Magdalena S. Richter, Bukola O. Salami

Abstract:

Armed conflict and internal displacement of persons create new health challenges for women in Africa. To outline the research literature on this population, we conducted a review of studies exploring the health of internally displaced persons (IDP) women in Africa. In collaboration with a health research librarian and a review team, a search strategy was designed that identified 31 primary research studies with relevant evidence. Studies on the health of displaced women have been conducted in South- Central Africa, including Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC); and in Eastern, East central Africa, and Western Africa, including Eritrea, Uganda, and Sudan, Côte d’Ivoire, and Nigeria. We identified violence, mental health, sexual and reproductive health, and malaria and as key health areas to explore, and observed that socioeconomic power shifts play a crucial role in predisposing women to challenges in all four categories. Access to reproductive health services was influenced by knowledge, geographical proximity to health services, spousal consent, and affordability of care. As well, numerous factors affect the mental health of internally displaced women in Africa: excessive care-giving responsibilities, lack of financial and family support to help them cope, sustained experiences of violence, psychological distress, family dysfunction, and men’s chronic alcoholism. National and regional governments must recommit to institutional restructuring and improved funding allocation to culturally appropriate health interventions for displaced women.

Keywords: internally displaced women, scoping review, women's health, Africa, health

Topics: Armed Conflict, Conflict, Displacement & Migration, Forced Migration, IDPs, Gender, Women, Health, Mental Health, Reproductive Health, Households, Livelihoods, Violence Regions: Africa, Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa Countries: Côte D'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Nigeria, Sudan, Uganda

Year: 2020

Citation:

Author: Fatma Osman Ibnouf

Abstract:

This paper investigates the role of women in achieving household food security in the Western Region of Sudan, an area much affected by the impacts of drought and civil conflicts. The study is based on a quantitative survey and qualitative focus group discussions, supported by personal observations made during fieldwork. Additionally, the study draws upon secondary data that is publicly available. Results demonstrate that women play a major role in producing and providing food for their households in this high-risk climate and conflict area, while men are more likely to migrate seasonally and even permanently. In addition, women are responsible for food preparation, processing, and food preservation and are wholly responsible for attending to household garden plots. They therefore contribute more to household food security than men, though this contribution is not recognized in official statistics. The study findings indicate that the main problems women face as food producers and providers are a lack of access to the full package of improved production methods (improved seeds, fertilizers, modern farming methods, credit services, pesticides, appropriate technologies, and marketing facilities), in addition to gender disparities and gender-biased traditions. The impacts of natural crises and civil conflicts are gendered and therefore the responses to these crises must be gender responsive. Holistic and strategic policies and plans that take gender issues into account are thus needed in order to achieve food security.

Keywords: Sudan, women, gender, migration, food security

Topics: Armed Conflict, Civil Wars, Displacement & Migration, Migration, Environment, Climate Change, Environmental Disasters, Gendered Power Relations, Households, Security, Food Security Regions: Africa, East Africa Countries: Sudan

Year: 2011

Citation:

Le Masson, Virginie. 2016. “Gender and Resilience: From Theory to Practice.” Working Paper, BRACED Knowledge Manager, London.

Author: Virginie Le Masson

Annotation:

Topics: Environment, Climate Change, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy, Gender Equality/Inequality, Intersectionality, Households, NGOs Regions: Africa, Central Africa, East Africa, West Africa, Asia, Southeast Asia Countries: Burkina Faso, Chad, Myanmar, Sudan, Uganda

Year: 2016

Citation:

Mihyo, Paschal B, and Truphena E Mukuna. 2015. The Gender-Energy Nexus in Eastern and Southern Africa. Addis Ababa: The Organization for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa (OSSREA).

Authors: Paschal B Mihyo, Truphena E Mukuna

Annotation:

Topics: Gender, Women, Gender Mainstreaming, Health, Households, Infrastructure, Energy Regions: Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa Countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zimbabwe

Year: 2015