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From Learners to Leaders: Empowering a Diverse and Intergenerational Group of Sudanese Women

Photo: Participants from a Town Hall Meeting discuss strengthening women's political engagement at?Ahfad University for Women?in October 2022 ? Search for Common Ground/2022

April 2024

The war that broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan in April 2023 has escalated instability, led to widespread displacement, sparked intercommunal violence, and resulted in over 14,600 reported fatalities1. The war has also disrupted progress in women’s empowerment as leaders. The fragile democratic transition that started in 2019 highlighted the importance of incorporating women’s leadership and perspectives in political processes. Notably, previous peace negotiations often excluded women, particularly those from peripheral states whose diverse experiences and concerns often went unaddressed, despite being disproportionately affected by conflicts.?

Numerous stakeholders in Sudan are working hard to change the traditional gender norms that have limited women’s leadership and their opportunities to collaborate with male peers in decision-making forums. With support from the Peacebuilding Fund (PBF), Search for Common Ground worked to empower an intergenerational and diverse group of women from the conflict-ridden states of Sudan to assume leadership roles in peace, security, and political endeavors. The initiative, titled ‘Strengthening the Political and Peacebuilding Role of Women in Sudan’s Transition’ with a budget of nearly $900,000, has engaged over 6,400 participants across South Kordofan, West Kordofan and Gedaref states. The two-year project, implemented from February 2021 to 2023, encompassed leadership training on the women, peace, and security (WPS) and youth, peace, and security (YPS) agendas, and built capacities in managing difficult discussions.

The project facilitated connections between emerging young women leaders and established women mentors through peer-to-peer sessions, enhancing their confidence to apply their newly acquired skills and engage with their communities on peace and security issues. It supported young women in collaborating with experienced women and young men to design community initiatives for peace that addressed their communities’ specific concerns, such as seed distribution to female farmers and rehabilitating water pumps to alleviate disputes over scarce drinking water. Furthermore, the project encouraged young men to become advocates for women’s inclusion, contributing to significant and lasting improvements in women’s political participation at both local and national levels.

A 25-year-old woman from South Kordofan shared her journey of overcoming her family’s resistance to her participation in public life. Initially, her family had prevented her from attending her chosen university program in Khartoum, forcing her to study a subject she had no interest in, closer to home. This experience highlighted the societal prejudice she faced as a young woman, where her aspirations and autonomy were stifled by familial expectations.

However, she eventually convinced her family to let her participate in the PBF-funded project’s leadership and conflict transformation training. She said, “The training was very useful as it developed the women’s leadership qualities, and it is useful for me to know how I can effectively drive a conversation. I think targeting women through this kind of training will build our capacity and enable us to actively engage in the public field. Now I feel that I am empowered to lead initiatives in my community to benefit other young women so they can be actively engaged in their society.”

This university student’s newfound agency in decision-making is just one example showcasing the project’s results that indicate a 43% increase in women reporting a readiness to speak out and lead on peace and security issues.

Another example of the project’s impact comes from the state of Gedaref, where in the village of Bilel, an exclusively male committee for water services failed to address the risk of flooding faced by the community. Women of the village, who had participated in the project’s training, took the initiative to lead the committee and tackle water issues by constructing dykes, a critical safeguard for the vulnerable community. Despite initial resistance from the traditionally male committee, the women gained broader community support for their leadership role, paving the way for future collaborative efforts between men and women on key issues.

Nagat Suliman Ahmed, Programme Officer for Search for Common Ground in Sudan, shared that managing the PBF-funded project “evolved my perspective on women’s political participation from the traditional view of participation through seats of power to the equal necessity of participation through women’s contribution to the local development of their communities. There, their voice is louder and women become genuinely visible. Of course, we encourage and support both high-level and local-level leadership, but when community members see women solving tangible problems for their benefit, like the flooding and the dykes, it has a greater and faster impact on their perception of women in leadership and their consequential support for this work moves the needle farther in a faster period of time.”

The project’s final assessments reveal that it laid the groundwork for sustainable change in the target communities of South Kordofan, West Kordofan and Gedaref. For example, that women can contribute positively to peace and security – an increase from 50% at the beginning of the project. Similar percentages of the community also believe women are key influential actors in political processes and advocacy within their communities.

The violence that has surged across Sudan since April 2023 has not undermined the gains made by the project; in fact, it has made them all the more vital. Across generations, the resilient women involved in the project continue to seize new opportunities to meet, discuss, and debate their views through activities like mentorship sessions and town hall meetings. They are undeterred in their pursuit of impactful involvement in peace, security, and advocacy. Their preparedness is particularly significant as the conflict intensifies and mediation efforts commence, highlighting the urgent need for women’s voices at both national and the local levels.

With continued support from the PBF, Search for Common Ground is advancing this investment in women’s empowerment through that involves training a group of Sudanese women in Track II Mediation in Kampala, equipping them to participate in peace talks in Addis Ababa. This ongoing investment by the PBF ensures that Sudanese women will not only occupy seats at the decision-making table, but will also actively shape the dialogue.

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