Silent Cries: The Plight of Darfur’s Women and Girls

In the tumultuous landscape of Sudan’s Darfur region, an insidious crisis has emerged: the relentless specter of sexual violence. This alarming reality, underscored by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), reveals stories of terror with chilling regularity. Could safety ever be more elusive?

Imagine a world where a child’s innocence is shattered before reaching the age of comprehension. This is the grim reality for children as young as five in Darfur, recounting their own harrowing tales of assault at the hands of armed marauders.

“Women and girls do not feel safe anywhere,” remarks Claire San Filippo, an emergency coordinator with MSF. “Attacks occur at home, during flight from violence, and in fields meant for nurturing life. They’re besieged by a sense of entrapment.”

Such violence isn’t merely a byproduct of war—it’s its own atrocity, a grotesque crime against humanity. Between January 2024 and March 2025 alone, MSF extended its care to 659 survivors in South Darfur. Of this number, 86% had endured rape, a staggering 94% of whom were women and girls.

Who are the perpetrators? Who indeed, when over half are identified as members of military or non-state consortia? Even more disturbing is the youthful face of the victim—31% are minors, and some not yet ten.

The devastation spills across borders, seeping into eastern Chad. Here, amidst 800,000 Sudanese refugees, MSF has tended to 94 survivors within the opening months of 2025, with most still in the throes of adolescence.

From the mouths of the afflicted, a 17-year-old survivor shares her ordeal: “We were told, ‘You are the wives of the Sudanese army.’ Nine RSF men, seven against me… I longed for forgetfulness.”

Barriers to care loom large—stigma, fear, isolation. A woman of 27 in eastern Chad confides, “Shame shadows my family, forcing my silence. Only now do I reach for medical aid, a plea cloaked in secrecy.”

In response, MSF has deployed community-centric interventions in South Darfur. By equipping midwives and healthcare personnel with the tools for emergency contraceptives and psychological triage, they facilitate pathways to clinics and hope.

The results are palpable. Women and adolescents are increasingly seeking the succor they need, a testament to MSF’s endeavors.

“The deficit in services for survivors is colossal,” asserts Ruth Kauffman, MSF’s emergency medical manager. “Enhancement of medical and psychological resources is paramount.”

MSF’s rallying cry is clear: warring factions must honor their international humanitarian obligations, safeguarding civilians’ safety and dignity.

Conflict continues to sculpt landscapes as relentlessly as wind shapes dunes. Yet, in this harsh terrain, hope endures—a fragile entity that, like the human spirit, refuses to be extinguished.

Edited By Ali Musa
Axadle Times International–Monitoring