Khartoum – Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Tuesday in Khartoum that Sudanese security forces have used threats, assault and rape to silence female human rights activists.
Daniel Bekele, HRW Africa Director, said at the launching of a book titled “Good Girls Don’t Protest” that the security in-human behaviours have forced many to abandon their work or flee the country.
He said government officials have targeted women involved in protests and rights campaigns, including students, teachers, lawyers and journalists, threatening to tar their reputations and warning of retaliation if they speak out.
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HRW official said that violence and abuse of women have increased in recent years along with the rise of protests and demonstrations following the Arab Spring, South Sudan’s secession from Sudan in 2011 and Sudan’s economic downturn.
“Sudanese women who defend human rights experience political repression like their male colleagues, but are also vulnerable to sexual assault and intimidation because they are women.
“Sudanese security officials often take advantage of discriminatory laws and social conventions to silence them,”he said.
Bekele said Sudan’s public morality laws dictated women’s dressing, limited their movements and role in public life and imposed corporal punishments of lashing and stoning.
He said unfortunately no security officer has been disciplined or prosecuted for rape, sexual assault, or harassment of activists, as national security laws give officers wide-ranging powers and shield them from prosecution.
Bekele said the government’s failure to investigate allegations of sexual violence and harassment, contributed to the hostile environment for female activists. (Reuters/NAN)