Rape as a Weapon of War in Sudan Threatens New Generation

In the heart of Sudan’s ongoing turmoil, a mother tenderly cradled her infant son, Yasser, his smile and sparkling eyes offering no hint of the harrowing trauma she survived. Nesma, a 26-year-old university graduate, endured a brutal assault at the hands of paramilitary fighters in Khartoum two years prior, a memory still vivid.

“I remember their faces,” Nesma recounted to Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Yasser is one of many children born to rape survivors amid the brutal conflict between Sudan’s army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Nesma’s family initially evacuated Khartoum when the war began. However, she bravely returned a year later to retrieve vital documents, including birth and academic certificates.

On her return, RSF fighters stopped her bus in Khartoum North, separating men from women. Nesma lost consciousness during the assault, awakening to a grim scene: a fellow passenger had been fatally shot. Her experience mirrors numerous accounts documented by rights groups, accusing RSF forces of systematic sexual violence, corroborated by U.N. experts.

Nesma only realized her pregnancy five months later, a revelation that brought its own turmoil. On the eve of her C-section, she decided to keep the child.

“It’s not my son’s fault, just as it’s not mine,” she told AFP, holding Yasser close. “I couldn’t bear the thought of him in pain or in a bad home.”

Double Injustice

Rape is wielded as a weapon in Sudan to fracture society, according to U.N. Special Rapporteur Reem Alsalem. Sudan’s state minister for social affairs, Sulaima Ishaq al-Khalifa, revealed that thousands suffer in silence, their assaults unreported, many opting for abortion or adoption.

Denise Brown, the U.N.’s lead official in Sudan, described a stark reality in Darfur—a town overrun with unreported rapes, some victims as young as girls.

The societal shame amplifies the injustice faced by survivors. Victims are often ostracized by families or abandoned by spouses, noted Alsalem. Left to raise children in secret, some women face outright rejection or accusations of collaboration with RSF.

In Darfur’s Tawila, another survivor, 20-year-old Hayat, recounted her trauma. Raped during the RSF’s assault on a refugee camp, she found refuge only to carry the memory of violence with her newborn.

The paramilitaries’ brutal history in Darfur echoes dark chapters of ethnic violence from which they emerged, including mass rapes by the Janjaweed militias.

Halima, now 23, survived multiple rapes, spared a third child through emergency contraception provided by Tawila doctors. Many survivors fled during the RSF’s takeover of El Fasher, where they faced similar horrors.

War on Women’s Bodies

The stories continue with Rawia, Alia, and Magda—all victims of violence, grappling with pregnancies resulting from assault. In Tawila, a midwife, Gloria Endreo, has tended to hundreds of survivors, helping those who attempted unsafe abortions.

She described the heavy emotional toll on mothers unable to bond with children born from such trauma. “They are forced to raise a constant reminder,” she said.

‘Both Mother and Father’

Fayha, another survivor in Khartoum, juggled the dual roles for her infant son. Assaulted under the threat of a gun, she silently shoulders the burden of her trauma. Sexual violence by military forces often goes unreported due to fear but is prevalent, say observers.

Naming procedures remain a challenge for mothers like Fayha, who, along with many others, lacks the necessary documentation for her child to access essential services. Bureaucratic and social hurdles leave countless children without legal status, raising concerns about their future, as articulated by U.N. officials.

‘This RSF Baby’

In Al Jazira, families face cultural stigma and forced unions with RSF fighters. The government has attempted to ease restrictions on abortion, though many remain unaware or unable to access services.

Abu Aqla Kaykal, once leading RSF forces in the region, now aligns with the army, further complicating the landscape of allegiance and violence.

Volunteer accounts highlight dire situations, with some women seeking abortions after dangerous self-medication attempts. In one case, a mother rejected her newborn, dubbed an “RSF baby.”

Many victims remain in captivity, including those whose families can’t pay ransoms. Despite the horrors, some families quietly adopt children, altering their narratives amid displacement.

Nesma, holding Yasser, envisions a brighter future. “He deserves a good life,” she affirmed, a resolute mother guiding her son forward.