Al Jazeera has documented a profound shift in Sudan’s social structure, reporting that displaced women are being forced into grueling manual labor to escape starvation as the country’s civil war enters a deadlier phase.
Reporting from Ad-Damazin in Blue Nile State, Al Jazeera highlighted how the conflict is reshaping gender roles.
The report noted that thousands of women, like a mother named Rasha, have become sole breadwinners by taking up work as woodcutters and carpenters—occupations historically reserved for men.
“The axe has become an extension of my hand,” Rasha told Al Jazeera Arabic, affirming that her daily wages from such back-breaking work under the sun are often only sufficient to purchase a single packet of biscuits or a bar of soap.
Parallel to the labor crisis, Al Jazeera cited a damning new report from Save the Children which affirmed that Sudan is now enduring the world’s longest school closure.
The analysis highlighted that Over eight million children—nearly half the school-age population—have missed approximately 484 days of learning.
This duration surpasses the worst school closures recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In North Darfur, the report noted a “total breakdown,” with only 3 percent of the state’s 1,100 schools remaining operational.
Al Jazeera emphasized that the collapse of education is being mirrored by a total failure in food security. Citing the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the report highlighted that At least 30 million people are now in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.
“Famine conditions” have been officially confirmed in the besieged city of Kadugli.
Blue Nile Humanitarian Aid Commissioner, Qisma Abdel Karim, affirmed that aid funding is “drying up,” leaving thousands of families cut off from life-saving supplies.
The report concluded with a grim assessment which says that the current state of the conflict, the population is now “equal in misery,” as mothers are left with the solitary choice of breaking traditional norms to toil for a pittance or succumbing to the encroaching famine.
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