Sudanese women from Gezira State have committed mass suicide in an act of desperation to avoid being raped by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Some media sources have reported that the act was committed on 26 October by over 130 women, a number that has not yet been officially confirmed.
Speaking to News Central TV, Hala Al-Karib, Regional Director of the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa, confirmed the mass suicide emphasizing that, since the onset of the civil war in April 2023, the conflict has increasingly weaponized women’s bodies as they are exploited and abused as part of a brutal military campaign.
“Our bodies have been used as a war weapons, and women in Central Sudan have been committing suicide because they couldn’t bear the pain of gang rape and torture they are experiencing at the hands of the militia,” she explained.
The 18-month-long war which erupted in Khartoum is the result of the power struggle between the leaders of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF in bid to seize power in the country. A report by UN Women reveals that gender-based violence in Sudan has more than doubled since the war began, with the number of individuals at risk having risen from 3.1 million to 6.7 million by December 2023.
Hala Al-Karib highlighted that the brutal surge of violence in central Sudan was triggered by the surrendering of one of RSF’s generals, Abu Kayka, to Sudan’s National Army. This defection incited the RSF to retaliate with a rampage of terror in the areas once controlled by Kayka as they unleashed unimaginable atrocities on civilians.
“As a way to retaliate they slaughtered villagers, looted and gang-raped women and young girls in the regions under the control of Abu Kayka,” she noted.
She also highlighted that the abuse extends to infants as young as seven months old and elderly women up to 75 years old. As a result of this sexual violence, many women are left with unplanned pregnancies which further complicates their lives.
Ms. Karib’s comments were echoed by the UN Fact Finding Mission report released on October 29 which stated that the RSF is responsible for large-scale sexual crimes in the regions it controls.
According to the report, RSF members have systematically perpetrated gang rapes, abductions, and detention in conditions that amount to sexual slavery. Accounts indicate that RSF members have used knives, firearms, and whips to terrify and intimidate their victims, often verbally degrading them with racist and sexist insults while making death threats in front of their families.
See also: Gender-based violence wrecks millions of lives in conflict-ridden Sudan
The RSF has dismissed the recent UN report and stated that the findings by a BBC journalist lack credible evidence. Despite these denials, Al-Karib’s testimony and corroborating reports suggest a devastating reality that continues to unfold.
Hala Al-Karib urged the African Union and the broader international community to prioritize the crisis in Sudan warning that without decisive intervention, the violence could lead to genocide or spread beyond Sudan’s borders.
