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Meet Asha Elkarib, a women’s rights defender from the Sudanese Organization for Research and Development (SORD) and a focal point member for FAO’s WeCaN in Sudan.

Talking from Sudan via WhatsApp last month, Asha was interviewed for the WeCaN April feature. Sudan is currently beset by political unrest and has been embroiled in conflict for many years- 2021’s military coup is the latest in a string of violent changes the country has been subjected to over the decades. So, what does Asha think of the current climate and its impact upon women’s rights, and what, also, are her thoughts on the environmental condition of the country, and what are women doing to deal with it?

First of all, despite the difficulties of the day, Asha sees an improvement in women’s rights and believes women may well be the future of Sudan along with the young men of the country who are more sympathetic to the plight of women.

Female voices are getting louder and conversations between women, on subjects that were previously taboo, are now frequent. For instance, violence against women, including genital mutilation (Sudan has one of the highest rates in the world with 86.6% of women between the ages of 15-49 affected, however since 22^nd April 2020 it is a criminal offence to cut, with a penalty of up to three years imprisonment)¹ is now being openly discussed. Young women, according to Asha, are now thinking outside the box and are not only improving but changing their situation. From an agricultural and environmental point of view, women are more productive in planting trees, caring for community forests, preserving the environment and dealing with garbage. The latter may be one of the most important questions in the country’s future: how does Sudan effectively deal with the disposal of garbage? Currently, the discussion is non-existent.

So, what has SORD (Sudanese Organization for Research and Development) in Sudan been up to regarding women and the environment? Off the bat, SORD has been occupied with encouraging collective farming for women, encouraging and teaching them how to prepare less damaging fertilizers, use drip irrigation for water, and also how to preserve (and sell surplus) food. In general, but also in this context, SORD supports the women to manage their money.

Women have traditionally been in charge of looking after young and sick animals. Now, women are seeing how they are able to make a real difference in this area- they go out and find the vaccines, administer them, and witness the improvement and growth of the previously sick and weak animals. Asha says that men are taking note and observe the women’s work which is producing positive results that ameliorate both their conditions and the community. Some men ask SORD why they help the women and not them; others tolerate it.

According to Asha, change moves at different speeds across Sudan- for Eastern Sudan for example, change will take longer due to the fact that the woman’s role is strictly restricted to the house. However, in some ways, theoretically at least, this means they have more time to dedicate to agricultural activities, therefore maybe in the future, Eastern Sudanese women will be able to play a more prominent environmental role. However, on the other side of the map, the women of Darfur work incredibly hard outside the house (Asha goes as far as to say that they are “enslaved” because they are burdened by long hours of work and have very little decision-making power including over their income and body), hence the time they can devote to such activities is decidedly less.  

Women’s rights in Sudan are hardly at a par with men’s. However, their voice is growing, changes are being made, and the situation is better than it used to be. No doubt, Sudanese women have still a long way to go, but Asha’s attitude is by no means to despair, but to find hope and remember that these changes are all heading in the right direction. Trials and tribulations are in store, especially due to climate change and the devastation it causes and will continue to cause in the future, but women will play their role, and vital environmental one, and will demonstrate once and for all, the strength of these fearless Sudanese women.