Posted on 04/23/2002 10:19:27 AM PDT by Deacon_m
WOMEN IN SUDAN: SLAVERY AND SLAVE TRADE UNDER THE NATIONAL ISLAMIC FRONT (NIF) REGIME
By Sarah Cleto Rial 4/2000
I am from the Bahr El Ghazal region in the South Central Sudan. Since 1989, my people have been the target of ethnic eradication by the racial Islamic government of Sudan. Under this government, more than two million people have been killed, our hospitals and schools have been destroyed, we have faced man-made famine, and our women and children have been enslaved—all without much reaction from the super powers of the world, including the United States. The terrible situation in the Sudan has had a devastating impact on the women. In 1983, we began to experience the impact of dictatorial rule through the imposition of Sharia law by the northern rulers. This is an Islamic law that encompasses various atrocities, including confinement of women to homes, and harsh punishments such as amputation and stoning to death as part of legal consequences resulting from whatever the Islamic law considers offensive. In 1989, the National Islamic Front (NIF) declared a jihad or holy war on my people. They sought to impose a radical form of Islam on the entire nation and as a result, millions of people were killed. Several other millions were displaced from their homes and families were disintegrated with a staggering number of widows and orphans now living in camps in the north or as refugees in neighboring countries. To make matters worse, those living in camps have little or no food to eat or water to drink. There are no permanent structures for their comfort and environmental sanitation. Of course, this poses its own horrific problems, out of which communicable diseases, in the midst of malnutrition and poor medical facilities, further claimed more lives out of the displaced southern Sudanese. Considering the poor financial disposition of the government, the military personnel are encouraged to supplement their income by confiscation of cattle, grains, and human slaves from the south. Typically, when the government orders a raid on villages, it affords the military opportunities to take women and children as part of the war booty. The captives are subsequently sold for up to five cows per individual. These “slaves” are then sent to the north through the region of Bahr El Ghazal, where they are utilized as domestic laborers, farm workers, and concubines. According to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Sudan, Mr. Gaspar Biro, more than 150,000 Sudanese have been sold into slavery in the last couple of years. Along with this act of inhumanity, these ‘slaves’ are frequently subjected to forced acceptance of the Islamic ideologies, through change of names and languages and mode of dressing to reflect full acceptance of Islam. Young women in captivity are mentally brutalized and repeatedly raped and forced to bear children who are also abandoned to suffer the anguish of helplessness and hatred. As part of the Islamic revolution, women are circumcised for the purposes of making them “clean” concubines for their masters. Numerous reports had indicated that these circumcisions are carried out under unsanitary conditions, causing these women to have bleeding and infections. Many are tortured, and severely beaten for unfounded reasons and some are purposely scarred or branded for identification. Under deteriorating economic conditions, women must resort to petty trading to sustain their families. They are often harassed and beaten by the police and the army. They are publicly embarrassed by flogging and are denied the opportunities of livelihood. Most of them are displaced in Khartoum, having escaped the war in the south and Nuba Mountains. By the lost of their husbands, most of them became heads of household, but with no legal rights or protection to safeguard them and their dependent children. For practically no justifiable reasons, a lot of these women have been lashed and thrown into prisons. Part of the motivation in the northern Sudan to encourage their young men to fight the south is the Islamic belief that their involvement in the eradication of infidels or non-Muslims ensures their place in heaven. This belief generates so much aggression amongst these young men who displace their zeal by the methods applied towards burning and looting villages, slaughtering people of all ages including pregnant women and children, and committing atrocities beyond the limits of understanding. They even deny the provisions of humanitarian assistance by other governments and would rather stand by and watch the displaced women and children starve to death. These actions are enhanced by the frequent announcements of the National Islamic Front, of its intentions and desire to eliminate the nation of Sudan of infidels and to implement the policy of slavery as part of its tactics of genocide and ethnic cleansing. In Sudan, women are marginalized and relegated to the background. We face gender discrimination and prejudice. Fortunately, we have learned to survive abuses of this type through sharing each other’s experiences and most recently, fighting for liberation under harsh conditions. Under the NIF Islamic policies, we are facing more hardship given our already vulnerable position. Our situation is further deteriorated by the imposition of the Islamic traditionalist ideologies, which calls for subservience in our homes and the nation at large. Our mode of dress is infringed upon by this tradition, as well as our civil rights as human beings. A lot of women who adopt contrary lifestyles to this ideology are fired from jobs. Women’s movements are banned, except those sanctioned and manipulated by the National Islamic Front. The outcome of this practice is total confinement of women to domestic activities with absolutely no participation in the social, economic and political development of the country. This further affords the government the much-desired opportunity to perpetuate the victimization of the non-Muslim women of the southern Sudan. I am proud to be a member of several Sudanese women associations in exile who are calling for the eradication of women’s rights abuses. Most of our associations are working on the mass mobilization of women for participation in this liberation struggle. We are all working together to improve the condition of our displaced women all over the world, as well as our orphans who are even more devastated by the deplorable conditions of our country. My fervent optimism says that we will succeed with others’ moral and material support. Our aim is to achieve a just and lasting peace in our country and to ensure a permanent cease-fire whereby we can all live harmoniously as people with common a goal and objective. We are supportive of an initiative calling for the creation of new United Democratic Civil Sudan and the separation of religion from the state in which all people, regardless of gender, ethnic origin, or religion, can enjoy equitable benefits of peaceful co-existence. We are all looking forward to its implementation, regardless of the limited grassroots support due to the ignorance of those who currently support the transgressions of our system. The support of the American people on this initiative will afford it the weight it requires to return absolute peace to Sudan. We hope that the United States Congress will also be supportive. We cannot overlook the circle of pain and suffering that has consumed and is still consuming millions of innocent lives in Sudan. The chapters of slavery have long closed in the books of history and we cannot allow the re-enactment of past memories through the impression of this practice by the Muslims of Sudan. Therefore, I extend my hands of plea to rise and support the efforts of American Anti-Slavery Group. Let us unite in friendship and free Sudan from the abominations of human trade. A peaceful and orderly Sudan means added peace in the co-existence of women in the troubled world of the African states. Please support our endeavor.
Contact Information:
Sarah Cleto Rial The American Anti-Slavery Group 198 Tremont Street, #421 Boston, MA 02116 1-800-884-0719 Info@anti-slavery.org http://www.anti-slavery.org
Newsrelease of the American Anti-Slavery Group | Sara Cleto Rial
Posted on 4/23/02 10:19 AM Pacific by Deacon_m
WOMEN IN SUDAN: SLAVERY AND SLAVE TRADE UNDER THE NATIONAL ISLAMIC FRONT (NIF) REGIME
By Sarah Cleto Rial 4/2000 \
I am from the Bahr El Ghazal region in the South Central Sudan. Since 1989, my people have
been the target of ethnic eradication by the
racial Islamic government of Sudan. Under this government, more than two million people have,
been killed, our hospitals and schools have been destroyed,
we have faced man-made famine, and our women and children have been enslaved
—all without much reaction from the super powers of the world, including the United States.
The terrible situation in the Sudan has had a devastating impact on the women.
In 1983, we began to experience the impact of dictatorial rule through the imposition of Sharia law by the northern rulers.,br> This is an Islamic law that encompasses various atrocities, including confinement of women to homes,
and harsh punishments such as amputation and stoning to death as part of legal consequences resulting from whatever the Islamic law considers offensive.
In 1989, the National Islamic Front (NIF) declared a jihad or holy war on my people.
They sought to impose a radical form of Islam on the entire nation and as a result, millions of people were killed.
Several other millions were displaced from their homes and families were disintegrated,br> with a staggering number of widows and orphans now living in camps in the north or as refugees in neighboring countries.,p> To make matters worse, those living in camps have little or no food to eat or water to drink.
There are no permanent structures for their comfort and environmental sanitation.
Of course, this poses its own horrific problems, out of which communicable diseases,
in the midst of malnutrition and poor medical facilities,
further claimed more lives out of the displaced southern Sudanese.
Considering the poor financial disposition of the government,
the military personnel are encouraged to supplement their income by confiscation of cattle,
grains, and human slaves from the south.
Typically, when the government orders a raid on villages, it affords the military opportunities
to take women and children as part of the war booty. The captives are subsequently sold for
up to five cows per individual. These “slaves” are then sent to the north,
through the region of Bahr El Ghazal, where they are utilized as domestic laborers, farm workers, and concubines.
According to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Sudan, Mr. Gaspar Biro,
more than 150,000 Sudanese have been sold into slavery in the last couple of years.
Along with this act of inhumanity, these ‘slaves’ are frequently
subjected to forced acceptance of the Islamic ideologies, through change of names and
languages and mode of dressing to reflect full acceptance of Islam.
Young women in captivity are mentally brutalized and repeatedly raped and forced to bear children
who are also abandoned to suffer the anguish of helplessness and hatred.
As part of the Islamic revolution, women are circumcised for the purposes
of making them “clean” concubines for their masters.
Numerous reports had indicated that these circumcisions are carried out under
unsanitary conditions, causing these women to have bleeding and infections.,p> Many are tortured, and severely beaten for unfounded reasons
and some are purposely scarred or branded for identification.
Under deteriorating economic conditions, women must resort to
petty trading to sustain their families. They are often harassed and beaten by the police
and the army. They are publicly embarrassed by flogging and are denied the opportunities of livelihood.
Most of them are displaced in Khartoum, having escaped the war in the south and Nuba Mountains.
By the lost of their husbands, most of them became heads of household, but with no legal rights or protection to
safeguard them and their dependent children. For practically no justifiable reasons, a lot of
these women have been lashed and thrown into prisons.
Part of the motivation in the northern Sudan to encourage their young men to fight the south is the Islamic belief that their
involvement in the eradication of infidels or non-Muslims ensures their place in heaven.
This belief generates so much aggression amongst these young men
who displace their zeal by the methods applied towards burning and looting villages,
slaughtering people of all ages including pregnant women and children,
and committing atrocities beyond the limits of understanding.
They even deny the provisions of humanitarian assistance by other governments and would rather stand by and
watch the displaced women and children starve to death.
These actions are enhanced by the frequent announcements of the National Islamic Front, of its intentions and desire
to eliminate the nation of Sudan of infidels and to implement the policy of slavery In Sudan, women are marginalized and relegated to the background.
We face gender discrimination and prejudice.
Fortunately, we have learned to survive abuses of this type through sharing each other’s experiences
and most recently, fighting for liberation under harsh conditions.
Under the NIF Islamic policies, we are facing more hardship given our already vulnerable position.
Our situation is further deteriorated by the imposition of the Islamic traditionalist ideologies,
which calls for subservience in our homes and the nation at large.
Our mode of dress is infringed upon by this tradition, as well as our civil rights as human beings.
A lot of women who adopt contrary lifestyles to this ideology are fired from jobs.
Women’s movements are banned, except those sanctioned and manipulated by the
National Islamic Front. The outcome of this practice is total confinement of women to domestic
activities with absolutely no participation in the social, economic and political development of the country.
This further affords the government the much-desired opportunity to
perpetuate the victimization of the non-Muslim women of the southern Sudan.
I am proud to be a member of several Sudanese women
associations in exile who are calling for the eradication of women’s rights abuses.
Most of our associations are working on the mass
mobilization of women for participation in this liberation struggle. We are all working together to improve the condition of our displaced women all over the world,
as well as our orphans who are even more devastated by the deplorable conditions of our country.
My fervent optimism says that we will succeed with others’ moral and material support.
Our aim is to achieve a just and lasting peace in our country and to ensure a permanent cease-fire
whereby we can all live harmoniously as people with common a goal and objective.
We are supportive of an initiative calling for the creation of new United Democratic Civil Sudan
and the separation of religion from the state in which all people,
regardless of gender, ethnic origin, or religion, can enjoy equitable benefits of peaceful co-existence.
We are all looking forward to its implementation,
regardless of the limited grassroots support due to the ignorance of those who currently
support the transgressions of our system.
The support of the American people on this initiative will afford it the weight it requires to
return absolute peace to Sudan.
We hope that the United States Congress will also be supportive.
We cannot overlook the circle of pain and suffering that has consumed
and is still consuming millions of innocent lives in Sudan.
The chapters of slavery have long closed in the books of history
and we cannot allow the re-enactment of past memories through the impression of this practice by the Muslims of Sudan.
Therefore, I extend my hands of plea to rise and support the efforts of American Anti-Slavery Group.
Let us unite in friendship and free Sudan from the abominations of human trade.
A peaceful and orderly Sudan means added peace in the co-existence of women
in the troubled world of the African states.
Please support our endeavor.
Contact Information:
Sarah Cleto Rial The American Anti-Slavery Group
198 Tremont Street, #421
Boston, MA
02116 1-800-884-0719
Info@anti-slavery.org American Anti-Slavery Group
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