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Welcome WILPF Sudan Group!

WILPF Sudan Group joined WILPF in order to be part of a global community which works for strengthening women’s participation within peace processes and challenging gendered power relations for promoting peace, justice and social transformation.

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  • 3 min
WILPF International Secretariat
18 June 2018

Sudan, officially known as the Republic of the Sudan, is a country situated in Northeast Africa with 12 million inhabitants. For several decades, Sudan has been in deep political crisis, which led to some of the most violent contemporary conflicts. Torn by civil-war, the country was divided in 2011 after the region that would become South Sudan voted for its independence.

A survey that was carried out in 2013 classified Sudan as one of the worst countries for women’s rights. Besides armed conflict, which have been the source of consistent women’s rights abuse, the country’s strict application of religious law limit women’s freedom in the country. From being arrested for wearing trousers or knee length dress to genital mutilation, women are constantly discriminated against and suffer from violent treatments. In addition, women’s rights violations do not only stay unpunished most of the time, but are also perpetrated by police and security forces.

Sudan has neither ratified nor acceded to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and during the 2017 October Security Council Open Debate, Sudan did not make any specific commitments towards the implementation of UNSCR 1325 and the Women Peace and Security Agenda.

In such a context, the work of WILPF Sudan Group is crucial. WILPF Sudan Group joined WILPF in order to be part of a global community which works for strengthening women’s participation within peace processes and challenging gendered power relations for promoting peace, justice and social transformation.

We met with WILPF Sudan Group to discuss their motivations and their main objectives.

What were your main motivations to become part of WILPF?

As women from a conflict affected country and severly affected by these conflicts, our interest to become an official WILPF National Group emerged from the the necessity of working within a global platform for bringing visibilty to issues affecting women in Sudan. WILPF is a one of the most influencial  organisations  for us to address the serious impacts of conflicts on women groups in the country and adovating for their right to participate in peace negotiations and peace building in Sudan.

What are the main objectives and aspirations of the WILPF Sudan Group for the years to come?

Our main objective is to empower the members of our National Group and build their capacity to ensure sound and effective implementation for the Group’s policies and programmes. Another objective of WILPF Sudan Group is to network with like-minded organisations at the national, regional and international level in order to achieve the Group’s mission. Furthermore, we believe that partnership with other civil society organisations plays a critical role in the continuity and success of any engagement, so one of our main objectives is to create strategic partnership with the different actors and women groups at grassroot level – in particular women in the conflict affected parts of the country. Finally we are aspiring to become a WILPF Section and establish our presence in Sudan as an effective actor advocating for women’s rights and participation in the peace process in the country.

What is your strategy to advance women’s rights and women’s participation to peace building processes in Sudan?

Firstly, our strategy is to raise awareness among Sudanese women of their rights and the critical role they could play to end violence and create lasting peace in the country. Secondly, is to build women’s capacities to claim their rights and participate in decision-making, conflict resolution and peace building.  Finally, we aim at advocating women participation in peace negotiations and supporting the implementation of UNSCR 1325 in Sudan.          

What do you see as the main distinctive feature of the WILPF Sudan Group in the Sudanese civil society landscape? 

Civil society in Sudan has a crucial role in the protection and advocacy of human rights. We foster participatory approach to mobilising and empowering key stakeholders in particular grassroot and women groups so as to building local, grassroot- and women – led peace building in Sudan. 

What are the main areas of collaboration that you aim at establishing with like-minded organisations in the country or in the region?

Collaboration with like-minded organisations is essential to support the development of WILPF Sudan Group, therefore, we aim at building collaborative partnership with like-minded organisations across the country and the region for the implementation of joint projects and initiatives, training, peer learning, knowledge sharing and experience exchange.

How can support and coordination with the rest of the WILPF community help you in achieving your objectives?

Working as a part of the WIPF community provides the organisational background and guidelines for our Group to grow, further the coordination and cooperation with the WILPF community and help our Group to overcome many difficulties and obstacles. In addition to this, the continuous advice and support we get from our sisters, peer learning, sharing knowledge and success stories will help us in achieving our goals and ensure that Sudanese women claim their rights.

Read more on how to create a WILPF National Group step by step.

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WILPF International Secretariat

WILPF International Secretariat, with offices in Geneva and New York, liaises with the International Board and the National Sections and Groups for the implementation of WILPF International Programme, resolutions and policies as adopted by the International Congress. Under the direction of the Secretary-General, the Secretariat also provides support in areas of advocacy, communications, and financial operations.

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Berit Aasen

Europe Alternate Regional Representative

Berit Aasen is a sociologist by training and has worked at the OsloMet Metropolitan University on Oslo. She has 40 years of experience in research and consultancy in development studies, including women, peace, and security, and in later years in asylum and refugee studies. Berit Aasen joined WILPF Norway five years ago. She is an alternate member of the National Board of WILPF Norway, and representing WILPF Norway in the UN Association of Norway, the Norwegian 1325 network and the Norwegian Women’s Lobby. Berit Aasen has been active in the WILPF European Liaison group and is committed to strengthening WILPF sections and membership both in Europe and relations across continents.

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Melissa Torres

VICE-PRESIDENT

Prior to being elected Vice-President, Melissa Torres was the WILPF US International Board Member from 2015 to 2018. Melissa joined WILPF in 2011 when she was selected as a Delegate to the Commission on the Status of Women as part of the WILPF US’ Practicum in Advocacy Programme at the United Nations, which she later led. She holds a PhD in Social Work and is a professor and Global Health Scholar at Baylor College of Medicine and research lead at BCM Anti-Human Trafficking Program. Of Mexican descent and a native of the US/Mexico border, Melissa is mostly concerned with the protection of displaced Latinxs in the Americas. Her work includes training, research, and service provision with the American Red Cross, the National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Centre, and refugee resettlement programs in the U.S. Some of her goals as Vice-President are to highlight intersectionality and increase diversity by fostering inclusive spaces for mentorship and leadership. She also contributes to WILPF’s emerging work on the topic of displacement and migration.

Jamila Afghani

VICE-PRESIDENT

Jamila Afghani is the President of WILPF Afghanistan which she started in 2015. She is also an active member and founder of several organisations including the Noor Educational and Capacity Development Organisation (NECDO). Elected in 2018 as South Asia Regional Representative to WILPF’s International Board, WILPF benefits from Jamila’s work experience in education, migration, gender, including gender-based violence and democratic governance in post-conflict and transitional countries.

Sylvie Jacqueline Ndongmo

PRESIDENT

Sylvie Jacqueline NDONGMO is a human rights and peace leader with over 27 years experience including ten within WILPF. She has a multi-disciplinary background with a track record of multiple socio-economic development projects implemented to improve policies, practices and peace-oriented actions. Sylvie is the founder of WILPF Cameroon and was the Section’s president until 2022. She co-coordinated the African Working Group before her election as Africa Representative to WILPF’s International Board in 2018. A teacher by profession and an African Union Trainer in peace support operations, Sylvie has extensive experience advocating for the political and social rights of women in Africa and worldwide.

WILPF Afghanistan

In response to the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban and its targeted attacks on civil society members, WILPF Afghanistan issued several statements calling on the international community to stand in solidarity with Afghan people and ensure that their rights be upheld, including access to aid. The Section also published 100 Untold Stories of War and Peace, a compilation of true stories that highlight the effects of war and militarisation on the region. 

IPB Congress Barcelona

WILPF Germany (+Young WILPF network), WILPF Spain and MENA Regional Representative

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Demilitarisation

WILPF uses feminist analysis to argue that militarisation is a counter-productive and ill-conceived response to establishing security in the world. The more society becomes militarised, the more violence and injustice are likely to grow locally and worldwide.

Sixteen states are believed to have supplied weapons to Afghanistan from 2001 to 2020 with the US supplying 74 % of weapons, followed by Russia. Much of this equipment was left behind by the US military and is being used to inflate Taliban’s arsenal. WILPF is calling for better oversight on arms movement, for compensating affected Afghan people and for an end to all militarised systems.

Militarised masculinity

Mobilising men and boys around feminist peace has been one way of deconstructing and redefining masculinities. WILPF shares a feminist analysis on the links between militarism, masculinities, peace and security. We explore opportunities for strengthening activists’ action to build equal partnerships among women and men for gender equality.

WILPF has been working on challenging the prevailing notion of masculinity based on men’s physical and social superiority to, and dominance of, women in Afghanistan. It recognizes that these notions are not representative of all Afghan men, contrary to the publicly prevailing notion.

Feminist peace​

In WILPF’s view, any process towards establishing peace that has not been partly designed by women remains deficient. Beyond bringing perspectives that encapsulate the views of half of the society and unlike the men only designed processes, women’s true and meaningful participation allows the situation to improve.

In Afghanistan, WILPF has been demanding that women occupy the front seats at the negotiating tables. The experience of the past 20 has shown that women’s presence produces more sustainable solutions when they are empowered and enabled to play a role.