Voices of the Margins A Participatory Study on and by Sudanese Multi-Marginalised Women and how “Freedom— Peace—Justice”, the Demands of the Sudanese Revolution of 2018/2019, Can be Turned into their Structural Empowerment KURVE Study Papers Bana Group for Peace and Development in Cooperation with KURVE Wustrow—Centre for Training and Networking in Nonviolent Action About this Publication Voices of the Margins A Participatory Study on and by Sudanese Multi-Marginalised Women and how “Freedom—Peace—Justice”, the Demands of the Sudanese Revolution of 2018/2019, Can be Turned into their Structural Empowerment Published by Bana Group for Peace and Development in cooperation with KURVE Wustrow—Centre for Networking and Training in Nonviolent Action www.kurvewustrow.org Supported by the German Civil Peace Service Programme (Ziviler Friedensdienst) Available in Arabic and English Creative Commons Licence: You are free to share and adapt, with attribution/appropriate credit and for non-commercial purposes. Contact details: Bana Group for Peace and Development: [email protected], [email protected] Bana Germany: [email protected] KURVE Wustrow: [email protected], www.kurvewustrow.org Proofreading / Editing: Annedore Smith Editorial processing: Steffi Barisch, Anja Petz Photos: Bana Group for Peace and Development Layout: Gregor Zielke Year of Publication: 2021 KURVE Study Papers ISSN: 2748-2405 ISBN: 978-3-9823256-0-6 Printed on environmentally friendly paper with environmentally compatible paints. 2 Voices of the Margins 3 Acknowledgements We wholeheartedly thank all interviewees who took part in this study. Even though, for technical rea- sons, unfortunately not all of the interviews collected could be used for this study, we nevertheless are confident that this document significantly reflects the voices of multi-marginalised women in Sudan. We furthermore thank the fantastic and inspiring Bana team, namely the interviewers (in alphabet- ic order): Amani Hasabo, Amna Mohammed Osman, Bedour Zakaria, Ebtessam Mohammed Mousa, Ekram Hamza, Hamida Mustafa Gasi, Mashair Ali, Namareg Ibrahim Yahya, Sanaa Abdalla Ragab, Yas- min Dawood Atron, Zaida Mohammed Hussein, as well as Bana members who supported and partici- pated, namely Azza Rashid, Khalda Saber, Nuha AlBadri Mohammed, Samia Ali Hamza, and of course Mai Ali Shatta for the overall coordination and initiative. A big thankyou goes out also to Mona Habiballah, Yousra Mahdi, and Yousra Derar for translation and support, and all others who contributed in making this study possible. Last but not least, we thank the authors of Bana and KURVE Wustrow. Dedicated to marginalised and violated women all over the world. 3 Table of Contents List of Abbreviations 7 Abstract 8 Chapter 1: How to Bring the Revolution Home? 11 Introduction—Context and Purpose of the Study 11 Purpose and Focus of this Study 14 Structure of the Report 15 Chapter 2: From Marginalisation to Taking the Stage 17 Background and Relevance 17 A Brief Conflict History of Sudan 17 The Current Conflict Reality in Sudan 20 Empowerment and Marginalisation: An Intersectional Perspective 24 Chapter 3: Understanding Multi-Marginalisation and its Overcoming 27 Theory 27 Previous Research 27 Key Concepts 28 Discrimination and Marginalisation 28 Multi-Marginalisation and Intersectionality 29 Empowerment 30 Further Definitions of Terms 31 Assumptions 32 Chapter 4: Experts in our own Right 34 Research Design and Methods 34 Exploratory-Inductive Approach 34 Research Design 34 Participants and Selection Criteria 34 Reasons for Empirical Scope 34 Materials 35 Interviews and Focus Group Discussions 35 Demographic Data Sheets 35 Procedure 35 Data Analysis 36 Data Collection 36 Analysis of the Data 36 Operationalisation 36 Definition of Content—Analytical Units 36 Category Definitions 38 Level of Abstraction 38 4 Voices of the Margins 5 Chapter 5: From Village to IDP Camp to Town, from Gineina to Kadugli to Port Sudan, from Coffee Stall to Classroom to Familiy Care Work 40 Data and Empirics 40 Description of the Sample 40 Inducted Categories 43 Limitations, Challenges and Opportunities 46 Context Challenges 46 Methodological Challenges 47 Chapter 6: Voices of the Margins 49 Analysis 49 Part 1: Needs and Demands of Multi-Marginalised Women in Sudan 50 Experiences of Intersecting Marginalisation and Discrimination 54 Needs of Multi-Marginalised Women in Sudan 66 Demands of Multi-Marginalised Women in Sudan 68 Linking Discrimination, Needs and Demands 77 Part 2: Future Governance Structures 78 Role of Previous Government with regards to Marginalisation and Demands 78 Installation of Mechanisms for Communicating Needs and Participating in Decisions 80 Part 3: The Transition Process and the Needs and Demands of Multi-Marginalised Women 83 Changes since the Revolution 83 Voices of Multi-Marginalised Women in the Transition Structures 89 Part 4: Influencing the Transition Process 93 Sense of Ownership and Experience of the Revolution 94 Unity, Cooperation and Overcoming Discrimination as Key Factors to Bring about Change 97 Ideas and Key Factors for (Self-)Organising to Bring about Change and Make the Voices of Marginalised Women Heard 98 Ideas and Key Factors to Bring about Change, Related to Education 100 Individual Participation Processes and Possibilities 102 Chapter 7: From Analysis to Action 104 Synthesis—Summary and Strategic Conclusions 104 Sub-Question 1: What Are the Needs and Demands of Women in Sudan, Especially those Facing more than one Form of Discrimination or Marginalisation? 105 Gender-related Discrimination and Marginalisation, Needs and Demands 106 Ethnicity-related Discrimination and Marginalisation, Needs and Demands 109 Class-related Discrimination and Marginalisation, Needs and Demands 111 Discrimination and Marginalisation, Needs and Demands to War and Displacement 114 Intersecting Aspects, mostly with regards to the Political System 116 Intersecting Conclusions 118 Sub-Question 2: How Do the Governance Structures Resulting from the Transition Process Need to Look Like, so that they Are Inclusive and Ensure that Marginalised Women’s Needs and Demands Are Continuously Reflected and Met? 119 Sub-Question 3: To what Extent Does the Transition Process up to now Open up Possibilities for Marginalised Women’s Needs and Demands Being Reflected and Met by the Resulting Structures? 121 Sub-Question 4: How Can Women—Especially those Facing Several Forms of Discrimination and Marginalisation—Influence this Transition Process so that it Results in such Structures? 123 Potential Implications of the COVID 19 Pandemic 125 5 Chapter 8: The Revolution Continues with All of us 127 Conclusion and Recommendations 127 Concluding Summary 128 Needs and Demands of Multi-Marginalised Women in Sudan 128 Potential Future Governance Structures 128 The Transition Process and the Needs and Demands of Multi-Marginalised Women 129 Influencing the Transition Process 129 Strategic Conclusions 130 Recommendations 130 Recommendations in Detail: 131 By Marginalised Women to Marginalised Women in Sudan—for their Empowerment 133 To the Transitional Government 134 To the Sudanese Civil Society 136 To the International Community 137 Bibliography and Annexes 140 Bibliography 140 Annex 1: Questionnaires 142 Annex 2: Demographic Data Sheet 148 Annex 3: Inductive Category Formation Forms 149 Annex 4: Interviewees’ Demographic Data 150 Annex 5: List of Interviewees 157 6 Voices of the Margins 7 List of Abbreviations CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women DDR Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration FFC Forces of Freedom and Change FGM Female Genital Mutilation ICC International Criminal Court IDP Internally Displaced Person(s) JEM Justice and Equality Movement NCP National Congress Party NGO Non-Governmental Organisation NIS National Intelligence and Security Services RSF Rapid Support Forces SLM/A Sudan Liberation Movement/Army SPA Sudanese Professionals Association SRF Sudanese Revolutionary Front SPLM/A Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army SWU Sudanese Women’s Union WHRD Women Human Rights Defenders 7 Abstract “Bana Group for Peace and Development” is a diverse group of women activists from all over Sudan, which was founded in 2017 and took part in the December Revolution of 2018/19. Our mission is to spread the culture of peace and support multi-marginalised women all over Sudan to have their needs met. After the Revolution, we wanted to understand if and how the transition process is reaching mul- ti-marginalised women in Sudan—and if the newly emerging structures and actors can really better their lives and bring “Freedom—Peace—Justice” for those most in need. Therefore, in December 2019, we set out for a participatory action research, interviewing multi-mar- ginalised women and activists in seven Sudanese States, starting in IDP Camps in and around Gineina, West Darfur, along-side empowerment workshops with these women. Our aim was to find out how we and (other) multi-marginalised women can influence the transition process in Sudan such that the resulting structures are inclusive and assure that the needs and demands of multi-marginalised wom- en are continuously reflected and met. Hence, what you are reading is not a desk study compiled by outside scholars, but the outcome of a participatory action research conducted by an activist group (partly) in their own communities, supported by consultants. Through our exploratory-inductive study, using a qualitative content analysis approach,