Continuing work in a war zone

Samia Nihar has worked actively promoting women’s place in the peace and security agenda for years. How does she and her fellow band of researchers and activists keep up their work in the midst of a war?

War could easily have stopped the most tenacious of us from keeping up our work, especially when that work at times touches upon controversial topics and comes with a risk. But it has not stopped researcher and activist Samia Nihar and her colleagues from continuing to champion women’s rights and role in Sudanese society. Even after a decree was issued that the universities had to close, they continued their work. They have been able to do so due to flexibility, well-rooted connections in the communities, innovative use of digital platforms, and good organisational skills.

Close local cooperation
For several years, the Gender unit at the Development Studies and Research Institute (DSRI) at the University of Khartoum has been a strategic partner for the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs when it comes to women, peace and security. As the unit’s leader, Samia Nihar plays a crucial role. They offer training sessions focused on violence against women in which they bring together both activists, government officials, and policymakers. For the biggest possible outreach, they cooperate with community colleges and institutes at regional universities, where the head of each involved institute is the central project team’s contact point.

Samia Nihar is also a member of the programme board for the Sudan-Norway Academic Cooperation (SNAC), in which gender, peace and security is one of the main research topics.

When the war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) first broke out in April 2023, the project came to a halt. The decree closing the universities made it hard to keep in touch, and violent clashes made it impossible for people to travel anywhere safely. But the halt turned out to be short-term, not because the situation on the ground changed, but because the team quickly upped their game.

-After an abrupt stop when the war first broke out, we quickly realised we had to reboot. Through meetings and especially through What’s app, we started discussing how we best could continue to offer training sessions, and in June we were up and running again, says Nihar.

In October the same year, as the internet connection got gradually worse, they were forced to rethink yet again, but with several staff members situated in areas that were relatively safe and had electricity and internet connections, communication between team members got better. Come 2024 things started going smoother, and they are now operating at an impressive level. Targeting two states in the north of the country, three states in Eastern Sudan, in Blue Nile State and in North and West Kordofan, they organise and facilitate their group trainings in which the topic has now evolved from encompassing women’s rights to also covering humanitarian work and how to protect displaced women and girls.

Shifting narrative, new focus
The shift towards a humanitarian focus is a necessity born out of the ongoing war. With more than 11 million internally displaced, almost 25 million facing acute hunger, and lack of access to health care, the team and their collaborators are now focusing on humanitarian work and health issues.

-How can displaced women and girls get the best help possible? That’s the most pressing question for us right now, which is why we have started offering training in how to do humanitarian work on top of our focus on women, says Nihar.  

The war has not only affected infrastructure and safety. It has also changed the official narrative about what is permitted to talk openly about. What used to be controversial is not necessarily seen as controversial anymore. What used to be a safe topic for discussion now carries great risk.

This has had an impact on several aspects of their work.

-Before the war, talking about sexual violence was risky. We had to navigate carefully not to be targeted for our training activities and awareness raising. Now, the authorities openly admit that sexual violence takes place, and furthermore that it is used as a weapon of war, says Nihar.

However, the authorities’ motivations for acknowledging sexual violence have a mixed background. While sexual violence allegations are largely directed at the RSF, and there is not much documented evidence against the SAF, the Sudanese authorities use this as a charge against the RSF to build a narrative that only the SAF can be trusted not to commit human rights violations. But for researchers and activists, acknowledging sexual violence nonetheless makes it easier to get their message across, to the point that they are now engaging with authorities in SAF-controlled areas on how to address violence against women.

-At any rate, the security forces are now too busy chasing enemies and monitoring social media to pay much attention to us, she says.

Sadly, in the new wartime narrative, one of these ‘enemies’ is youth. The youth played a crucial role in the December revolution that succeeded in ousting Omar Al-Bashir’s regime, and they are now carefully monitored, and sometimes also targeted by the authorities. Meanwhile, young activists and rights advocates are at the core of Samia Nihar and the project’s work. Disillusioned after their experiences with the country’s transitional government, where they were not invited to the negotiating table, and now with war, many of them have channeled their efforts towards humanitarian work.

-Because they are considered revolutionary elements, our cooperation with youth groups is also being monitored. We have to tread carefully not to put anyone in harm’s way and avoid bringing them all together in the same locations. Working with us indirectly links them to the university, and also to the community colleges we cooperate with. This gives them some protection, but they must still watch their step. We do what we can to make sure that they can work safely, says Nihar.