Our Bodies, their Battlefields

In many conflict-torn African countries, sexual violence against women is being used as a weapon of war

- Rani Jana

THE vulnerability of being a woman on the move, the constant fear of sexual exploitation, permanent displacement—for Omnia Mustafa, a Sudanese woman, life has been a blur for almost two years now. Belonging to Khartoum, the capital city of Sudan, Mustafa was first displaced in April 2023 when the civil war started and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF)—a paramilitary force formerly operated by the Sudanese government—invaded the town. She fled to Wad Medani, the capital city of Gezira, where she stayed for nine months before moving between two other states in Northeast Sudan. Mustafa finally escaped to Egypt with her mother. She narrates her journey through voice notes sent on WhatsApp. Among the fears she encountered, the fear of being sexually exploited was the most pronounced.

In Sudan, it is a war on women. Sexual violence is a weapon in armed conflicts—used during the war leading to South Sudan’s secession, continuing through the ethnic cleansing in West Darfur and now reemerging in the ongoing civil war.