Since April 2023, Sudan has been experiencing a genocide—a war that has shattered cities, displaced millions, and left entire communities stranded with nothing. Muslims in Sudan are experiencing severe droughts, environmental instability, and deadly floods.
But behind every headline on every news post is one singular truth: Sudanese women and children are experiencing a level of violence, loss, and stolen childhood that children in the West will never understand.
For many young women and girls, the war didn’t take away their homes, but it took away their girlhood and dreams in itself.
All across social media platforms, the humanitarian crisis in Sudan is talked about at least once during your “scrolling time.” Mothers are risking their lives to bring food—carrying their children who cry throughout the night from drones, delivering babies with no medical care, and protecting their children from violence and from crushing their dreams of a free life. Many have taken on the role of a super mom—a mother who does it all—becoming a symbol of strength, all while carrying the trauma of what they have lost.
You’re probably thinking, girls shouldn’t be stressing about this. They should be having dates with their girlfriends, talking about boys or watching the newest season of Stranger Things, but the girls in Sudan have it different. Girls who dream of school, friendships, and ordinary teenage moments are now living as refugees to survive.
In an article for Cosmopolitan titled “Stolen Girlhood: Sudanese women who never got to grow up”, journalist Shahd Batal discusses that millions of girls in Sudan have spent their lives living under instability and uncertainty. These young girls are navigating the world with nothing promised to them—not a home, not a career, not healthcare, not even a hangout session with friends. Most pressingly, they aren’t even promised a tomorrow when things are normal again; instead, they are being forced to grow up before they ever get the chance to be young. And the world is barely paying attention!
Sudanese women have been documenting their own stories and posting them online. Most of the videos are on the news, but some are posted on social media platforms. They talk about running away from gunfire, hiding away in classrooms, tirelessly finding clean water, or searching for family members.
They don’t want to be heroes; they just don’t have any other option.
Feeling helpless about reading about Sudan is not an option. Being aware of matters and understanding what is going on around the world is important. Talking about it matters. The women of Sudan have lost so much when they shouldn’t have to. They deserve the peace of shopping and painting their nails on a Friday night. They deserve to buy ice cream and eat it in bed while watching their favourite rom-com.
They deserve to be girls, but the world won’t let them rest, or let them enjoy their youth—their girlhood.
The years they’ve lost, they will never get back. They can never take back those years and start over from scratch; they will have to move on and continue under genocide. It’s not a recipe you can redo, or a show you can rewind, it’s life. The pill that’s hardest to swallow is how Muslim women in Sudan have to continue fighting without the world giving them the space to grieve.
Being 10, 12 or 16 years old and trying to process the loss of your home, dreams, safety, school—all while being told to “stay strong.” That’s the reality that Sudanese girls have to deal with every single day.
Yet somehow, they still fight and try to help one another. Girls are teaching one another how to stay safe, braid hair, and comfort the younger children. But they’re just kids, shouldn’t they be protected too?
Sudanese women deserve more than our sympathy. If you’re reading this and you have no clue what you can do to help the people of Sudan, start small.
Start by refusing to let their stories die and spreading awareness of the genocide that is occurring in Africa. Continue by caring—genuinely caring, feeling their hurt and trying to change the situation that they are in, even if it’s small. Reposting or donating helps, especially now when the world is teaching us to scroll away.
Sudanese women deserve more from us; they deserve more than our sympathy. Girlhood is something every girl is expected to experience. Still, for the women of Sudan, they are expected to grow up earlier, being robbed of so many monumental life experiences.