faeze mohammadi

In the midst of a war now entering its second year, Sudanese women stand on the front lines of resistance without a weapon in hand — sometimes with a camera, sometimes with a mobile phone, sometimes with a ladle in a small kitchen, and sometimes in the white coat of a doctor in a half-destroyed hospital. They have fought, not for military victory, but for survival, dignity, and life.

From Home to Exile: Halima’s Story

“Despite everything we have been through, we have not broken. We lost everything, we were displaced for months, then we took refuge in Egypt, and now we fight every day for bread, shelter, and medical care.”

These are the words of Halima Haroun, as reported by Al Jazeera. At dawn, she prepares traditional Sudanese products and takes them to a small market in the Faisal suburb of Cairo. She sits for hours, hoping to cover living expenses — just like dozens of other women, each with a story full of pain, patience, and danger.

Some of them have reached Egypt with young children and sick or disabled husbands via dangerous smuggling routes. Another woman speaks of her husband, who died suddenly shortly after arriving in Cairo, leaving her alone with two daughters — one disabled and one a university student. Now, the small market is their new battlefield.

Suffering Beyond the Image

Domestic and international reports speak of the severe suffering of women in this war: rape, violence, forced labor for armed forces, and widespread deprivation. Yet many women have not abandoned their professions; they have continued their work under fire and afterward, in conditions where medical and security services have collapsed.

Malaz Naji, a Sudanese journalist, is one such figure. She moved with her “weapon” — a camera — amidst bullets and snipers. She was the first camera crew to enter the Shambat area of Khartoum after it was retaken. She says the military vehicle they were in came under direct fire, forcing them to suddenly change course. She survived not only the danger of snipers but also sudden bombings.

While covering the war in Khartoum, Malaz Naji emphasizes that Sudanese women have endured immense suffering from the conflict. She speaks of her personal experience with powerful stories: women who were abducted, women who were raped and held captive, women who suffered from extreme hunger, and women who were forced to bear the burden of supporting extended families, enduring much abuse from the Rapid Support Forces in the process. Malaz insists that what has been reported about women’s suffering is not even one percent of the reality on the ground.

A Hospital on the Firing Line

Dr. Safaa Ali, an obstetrician and gynecologist and director of the Saudi Maternity Hospital in Khartoum, was named one of the BBC’s influential women of 2024. Safa says she has dedicated her career to maternal and child health. She joined the Saudi Hospital before the war began and eventually became its director.

She added: “When the conflict started in April 2023, everything changed overnight. Khartoum became a battlefield; we constantly heard bombing and gunfire, and moving around became very dangerous. The hospital was also damaged; parts of the building were hit, windows were shattered, and some essential equipment was destroyed or lost.”

However, the biggest challenge for Safa and her team was continuing to work when resources had almost completely disappeared: electricity was cut, water was scarce, medicines were in short supply, and the medical staff had dwindled. This made even the simplest medical services extremely difficult.

Recalling the difficult days of the war, Safa says: “Some of my family members left the city for their safety, but as a doctor and the head of one of the few functioning hospitals, I felt I couldn’t leave.” She continues: “Like other residents of Khartoum, we experienced very dangerous moments, and many times we were close to the conflict zones.”

From Refugee to Entrepreneur

Hiba Balah, a 22-year-old Sudanese woman, spent three years moving between Khartoum and Al Jazirah state until she and her family went to Ethiopia in early 2024. Unemployment and high costs pushed her to survey the market. She started selling Sudanese products, then added clothing imports, and her business thrived.

She says: “In a foreign land, you can’t just sit idle. Life imposes its own obligations.” She has now returned to Sudan with new experience.

Working in the Shadow of Hunger and Siege

Dr. Mee Mohamed Youssef, a psychiatrist, remained in the city of Omdurman throughout the entire war. She says she never even thought of leaving the city or seeking refuge. Her home is in the Bant West neighborhood, close to “Silah al-Muhandiseen” and “al-Silah al-Tibbi,” which made the area a constant target for bombing and siege.

Mee, who was recently appointed director of the Tigani Al-Mahi Psychiatric Hospital, recounts extremely difficult and painful scenes: days when she and her family were left without water and had to walk for kilometers to the Nile River to fetch it. Then food also ran out, and they relied on airdrops — supplies that often never arrived.

She says hunger truly afflicted them, and they couldn’t even meet their body’s minimum needs. “Getting a serving of lentils from communal kitchens — volunteer-run kitchens — was the ultimate luxury. I even saw people eating tree leaves out of extreme hunger.”

Despite these grueling conditions, Dr. Mee says she never turned off her phone to patients. She guided patients to Al-Naw Hospital, where a new psychiatric department had opened. As the war spread and conflict zones multiplied, rates of depression, psychological shock, anxiety, and fear rose sharply, and patients came from every area that had been attacked.

In addition to her clinical work, Mee is also the coordinator of the Psychiatric Advisory Council at the Ministry of Health. She says that from this position, she has noticed a significant increase in cases related to mental health problems, especially with the return of many refugees struggling with substance abuse, suicide attempts, and depression.

Women on the Front Line of Humanity

When the war bent the back of society, women stood at the heart of the humanitarian response. Women-led and community kitchens provided food to displaced people for weeks and months, even while they themselves were in dire straits.

These women, unarmed but steadfast, tell a different story of war: a battle to preserve life. They may be less visible in the official frame of cameras, but they are the hidden pillars of survival in Sudan.

Fateme Anisi