UN Women warned that there is growing evidence that rape is being used “deliberately and systematically” in Sudan, stressing that women and girls “are not mere statistics — they are a measure of our shared humanity.”
In a report released Tuesday, UN Women focused on the gendered dimensions of food insecurity in Sudan.
Anna Mutavati, UN Women’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, said: “Every day the world delays action on Sudan, another woman gives birth under bombardment, buries her child from hunger, or disappears without justice.”
She added that women have reported suffering from hunger, displacement, rape, and bombardment in El Fasher — “the epicenter of Sudan’s latest catastrophe” — where pregnant women have been forced to give birth in the streets after the last remaining maternity hospital was looted and destroyed.
The militias seized control of El Fasher in late October after more than 500 days of siege, amid widespread reports of atrocities, including summary executions and sexual violence.
Mutavati said thousands of women and girls have fled to other areas of North Darfur, including Tawila, about 70 kilometers away, as well as Kurma and Mellit, where humanitarian presence remains “extremely limited.”
“What women are telling us,” she said, “is that every step they take — to fetch water, collect firewood, or queue for food — carries the risk of sexual assault.”
She warned that women’s bodies have “become a crime scene in Sudan,” emphasizing that “there are no longer any safe places” for them to receive basic protection or psychosocial care.
