Sudan Crisis: Women Face Starvation, Violence and War

A woman prepares a meal for her family in El Fasher, capital of North Darfur in western Sudan, which paramilitary forces finally overran last month after a 500-day siege.

In war-torn Sudan, rape is increasingly being used as a weapon of war, and simply being a woman is “a strong predictor” of hunger, violence, and death, the UN’s gender equality agency warned Tuesday.

“Women speaking to us from El Fasher, the heart of Sudan's latest catastrophe, report enduring starvation, displacement, rape, and bombardment,” said Anna Mutavati, UN Women Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, in Geneva. “Pregnant women have given birth in the streets as the last remaining maternity hospitals were looted and destroyed.”

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia captured North Darfur’s capital, El Fasher, after more than 500 days of siege in late October, amid reports of widespread atrocities, including summary executions and sexual violence.

Fighting erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF paramilitary group after a transition to civilian rule collapsed, following the 2019 overthrow of long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir. Heavy fighting has devastated communities, displaced millions, and worsened an already dire humanitarian crisis.

Ms. Mutavati said the situation is worsening as fighting spreads around the city, prompting mass displacement. Thousands of women and girls have fled to other localities in North Darfur, including Tawila—some 70 kilometres away—Korma, and Malit, where humanitarian presence is extremely limited.

On Monday, UN aid coordination office OCHA reported that nearly 89,000 people have fled the area, some seeking refuge near the Sudan-Chad border.

“What the women tell us is that on their horrific journey, every step they take to fetch water, collect firewood, or stand in a food line carries a high risk of sexual violence,” the UN Women representative said. “There is mounting evidence that rape is being deliberately and systematically used as a weapon of war.”

Nowhere is safe

Warning that women’s bodies “have just become a crime scene in Sudan,” Ms. Mutavati stressed there are “no safe spaces” left where women can find protection or access basic psychosocial care.

“Basic dignity has collapsed,” she added, noting that in North Darfur a single packet of sanitary towels costs around $27, while humanitarian cash assistance averages less than $150 per month for a family of six.

Ms. Mutavati described families making “impossible decisions,” often choosing between food, medicine, and dignity. “The essential needs of women and girls fall to the very bottom of that list,” she said.

She also highlighted that in Sudan, “women and girls eat the least and they eat last. Many may not be eating at all. Women often skip meals so their children can eat, while adolescent girls frequently get the smallest share, affecting their long-term nutrition and health.”

“In besieged, remote areas like Darfur or Kordofan, women and girls are often scavenging for survival,” Ms. Mutavati added, citing reports of women foraging for wild leaves and berries to boil into soup while facing violence.

Starvation takes hold

In early November, the latest UN-backed IPC food security analysis confirmed famine conditions in El Fasher and Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan.

Health workers also report rising cases of severe acute malnutrition in infants, often linked to starving mothers’ reduced ability to breastfeed.

“There's a ripple effect of the hunger that women are experiencing,” she warned.

Calling for an end to the violence, broader humanitarian access, and increased support for women-led soup kitchens and aid providers, Ms. Mutavati stressed that women and girls in Sudan “are the measure of our shared humanity.”

“Every day the world delays acting on Sudan, another woman gives birth under fire, buries her child in hunger, or disappears without justice,” she concluded.