Statement by the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA Network) – (no. OBS/433)
Your excellencies,
We welcome this opportunity to engage with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) on the current context across the Horn of Africa (HoA) and the rights of women and girls in the region during its 83rd Ordinary Session. Founded in 1995, the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA) is an indigenous feminist network comprising more than 200 civil society organizations dedicated to advancing gender justice across Uganda, Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, and the Somali Region.
Introduction
In the course of our work across the HoA, we are witnessing an unprecedented backlash against the rights of women, girls, and the broader women’s rights movement in the region. At the level of personhood, this is evident from the alarming levels of sexual gender-based violence (SGBV) and conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) targeting the bodies of women and girls. This has been used as a tool of subjugation, undermining our bodily autonomy, power, and overall dignity. This sense of control has also been driven by a highly patriarchy center at the level of the State and through religious and cultural leaders, perpetuated through harmful gender laws, policies, religious edicts shrouded in the concept of morality and traditional customs. High levels of harassment and intimidation have been aimed at women human rights defenders (WHRD), activists, and journalists by militaries, non-state armed groups, and security sector actors. This is all against women who have come together to organize in the name of safeguarding the rights and welfare of women and girls in the region. All the while, women across the HoA continue to grapple with poverty, a lack of access to critical sources of land and property for their livelihood and empowerment, limited social welfare protections, access to education, and critical health services, particularly sexual reproductive health care, and psychosocial support.
This backlash has contributed to a backdrop of increased instability and conflict across the region. It is driven by rising levels of militarization, the flow of arms, and an overall fight for control and resources evident in strained geo-political tensions and the eruption of proxy wars across the HoA. This has been exasperated by climate change, drought and the ripple effect of authoritarianism and trade wars. The first to suffer has been the rights of women and girls through the deinstitutionalization of gender and funding cuts that are crippling the important work of women rights organizations. Additionally, the defence against this backlash has been limited as we grapple with low volumes of women’s voices in critical decision-making roles.
All the while, we recognise the tireless work of the ACHPR with regard to these issues and we applaud the resolutions passed on the protection of women’s rights in the region, notably: Resolution (LXXXI) on the Renewal of the Mandate of the Joint Fact-Finding Mission to the Republic of the Sudan (2024), Resolution (LXXXI) on the Renewal of the Mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa (2024) and Resolution (LXXXII) on the Need to Raise Awareness for States to Withdraw Reservations on Some Provisions of the Maputo Protocol (2025). This is in addition to the recent adoption of the African Union’s Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls, which hope will go towards reinvigorating the commitment of Member States with respect to women’s rights. We further call on the ACHPR to hold Member States of the HoA accountable in the fulfilment of their obligations under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (the Maputo Protocol).
Sudan
As the war continues to rage on between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), the bodies of women and girls have been used as a systematic weapon of war. Through the extensive efforts of staff, caseworkers, and key partners on the ground, SIHA has documented an astounding 372 cases of CRSV targeting women and girls, a number that continues to grow daily. A vast majority of these cases are gang rape, predominately perpetrated by the RSF, though we have documented some cases committed by SAF and its allied militia. Other forms of CRSV committed have included sexual slavery, forced marriage, and transactional sex for critical food supplies and dowries to support the broader family at the expense of the girl child. It has also included sexual assault, and these crimes have been levelled alongside instances of looting, abductions, physical assault and torture. This has also been while aiming racist slurs at survivors, particularly those from African-identified tribes and ethnicities such as the Masalit, Fur, and Zaghawa people, commonly from the Darfur region. There have also been extensive cases of femicide perpetuated by the RSF against women who have acted in defiance of their control. Additionally, 24.8% of SIHA’s documented cases consist of children who have been subjected to CRSV and forced servitude. This has been driven by blatant impunity and a lack of justice and accountability for the crimes committed. As these cases continue to unfold, women and girls continue to grapple with the absence of critical sexual reproductive health and psychosocial support services, access to safe drinking water, electricity and humanitarian aid.
As SAF continues reclaiming territories that were previously under RSF control, SIHA has also observed the growing criminalization of women across Wad Madani, Gedaref, Port Sudan and Dilling. At current date, SAF has detained over 300 women in abhorrent conditions, charged under the Sudanese Criminal Code of 1991 and the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2001, for allegedly collaborating with the RSF. Under these laws, women are targeted for detention based on their place of residence and ethnicity if it demonstrates any loose connection to the RSF and are often from poorer socio-economic backgrounds. SIHA has also documented at least 230 cases of enforced disappearance perpetrated by the RSF against women and girls, and we advocate for their safe return to their families.
South Sudan
South Sudan continues to struggle with cycles of intercommunal conflict, displacement, and GBV all rooted in a broader crisis of governance, militarization, and impunity. More than a decade after independence, South Sudan remains a fragile State where violence against women and girls is a reality of daily life. In Wau alone, over the course of 2024, SIHA has documented an alarming 734 cases of GBV against women and girls, mostly taking the form of rape. To put in context, at least two women or girls face sexual violence e very single day in Western Bahr el Ghazal. In January and February 2025 alone, SIHA documented 130 additional cases, signalling the persistence of sexual violence.
Furthermore, new waves of violence and insecurity have emerged in recent months, especially in Upper Nile, the Western and Eastern States which has also exasperated CRSV against women and girls and threatened the collapse of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan. Firsthand reports from WHRDs confirm encountering a series of intimidation and harassment by state security actors for peacefully demonstrating against the deterioration of security and women’s rights in the country. In the worst scenarios, some have experienced attacks and unlawful arrests, creating a climate of fear and censorship, with some WHRDs withdrawing from activism in South Sudan, altogether. South Sudan remains one of the most fragile humanitarian contexts in the region, with approximately 2.2 million people displaced and in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. Women and children represent the largest share of those affected, bearing the brunt of conflict, displacement, and violence.
Somalia
Somalia has also been flagged as one of the most perilous countries for women and girls, with over 1200 cases of sexual violence reported in 2024 alone, though the actual numbers are believed to be much higher due to widespread stigma and fear of retaliation. The re-introduction of the controversial Sexual Intercourse and Related Crimes Bill, and the Personal Status Bill in other Somali territories, particularly Somaliland, could potentially legalize child marriage, has also sparked national and international outrage, signalling a disturbing regression in the protection of women and girls. Meanwhile, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) continues to be practiced at an alarming rate—affecting nearly 98% of Somali women. Somalia’s Family Law Code of 1975 is now largely outdated and is in dire need of revision, noting the evolution of the women’s rights movement from 1975 to the present date. Currently, the Code fails to set a clear legal marriage age, and its allowance for marriage at puberty has left the door open for child marriage. SIHA continues to receive disheartening reports of child marriage involving children as young as 8 years old. In recent years, Somalia has also experienced intensified levels of backlash against women activists, journalists and political leaders, particularly driven by traditional and religious leaders who continue to perpetuate harmful cultural practices and patriarchal norms. This mindset has contributed to the glaring disparities in the level of women’s political participation across Somalia and its territories, in addition to a general pushback against gender mainstreaming. Currently, only 24% of the country’s parliamentary seats are held by women. The Government’s recent symbolic actions in removing “Women” from the title of the Ministry of Women and Human Rights signal a troubling retreat from the country’s overall commitments to gender equality. The Government’s recent symbolic actions in removing “Women” from the title of the Ministry of Women and Human Rights signal a troubling retreat from the country’s overall commitments to gender equality.
Ethiopia
These recurrent themes across the region are also evident in Ethiopia. According to an online survey which SIHA rolled out in August 2024 with 84 participants across diverse backgrounds, GBV was flagged as a pertinent issue to be addressed in the country by 54.8% of the respondents. Ethiopia rates of GBV are highlighted at an overall rate of 39%, consisting of emotional, physical and sexual violence aimed at women and girls. This is in addition to the ongoing crimes of sexual violence occurring in the Tigray and Oromia as a result of the conflict. SIHA has also been closely monitoring the sharp rise in femicide cases in Ethiopia, having documented the harrowing murder of 7 year old Heaven Awet in Bahir Dar who was raped, mutilated and killed by her mother landlord in September 2024. FGM statistics remain high, at 65%, ranking Ethiopia among the top ten countries with the highest prevalence in Africa. In January 2024, the Ethiopia Islamic Affairs Supreme Council (EIASC) released a religious edict reversing its previous condemnation of FGM, with a pronouncement that it was now a recommended practice under Islam. Amid the pressure of vigorous advocacy efforts, EIASC later retracted its pronouncement and issued a statement affirming the national efforts against FGM. However, this is an example of the control and violence targeting the bodies of women and girls which has largely been driven by state, religious and traditional leaders, rooted once again in patriarchy and harmful cultural practices.
In January 2025, SIHA also noted, with concern a hijab ban at schools in Axum, which triggered protests in Mekelle. While a case had been brought before the Axum District Court suspending the ban, this was later dismissed, leaving Muslim students without legal protection. Finally, we note that all these issues are currently ongoing amidst increased censorship and shrinking civic space within the country. In December 2024, the Ethiopian Authority for Civil Society Organizations suspended the operations of 4 human rights organizations, 2 of which are SIHA Network members. Though the suspensions were lifted in February 2025, we note the frigid conditions these organizations are currently working in.
In light of the context outlined above, we call on the ACHPR to hold these Member States, namely Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia and Ethiopia to their legal obligations under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, specifically Article 5 (freedom from inhuman and degrading treatment), Article 16 (right to health), Article 17 (right to education) and Article 18(3) (elimination of discrimination against women). We further call on the ACHPR to do the same with respect to legal obligations under the Maputo Protocol.
As a conclusion to this statement, we make the following recommendations, namely for the ACHPR to:
- Strongly condemn the crimes of femicide, enforced disappearance, CRSV, and SGBV, particularly FGM, perpetrated against women and girls in the region.
- Relentlessly push for access to emergency sexual and reproductive health services, humanitarian aid and psychosocial support for women and girls who have survived sexual violence across the HoA and particularly in Sudan;
- Drive concerted efforts to support the establishment gender sensitive civilian protection systems for countries with ongoing conflict in the HoA, such as Sudan, which serves as a preventative step against CRSV, under the leadership of the Special Rapporteur on Women’s Rights in Africa;
- Demand for investigations with respect to the high levels of sexual violence against women and girls, and for justice and accountability against the perpetrators of these crimes in ending ongoing immunity. In the case of Sudan, this encompasses calls for the timeous publication of findings by the Joint Fact-Finding Mission to the Republic of the Sudan;
- Implore for full compliance with State obligations under the African Charter and Maputo Protocol in safeguarding the rights of women and girls among member states such as South Sudan and Ethiopia;
- Call for the ratification and domestication of the Maputo Protocol by the Somali and Sudanese Governments in demonstrating their commitment to women’s rights and all Member States with respect to the African Union’s newly adopted Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls.
- Push for targeted reforms to family laws in HoA countries, which categorically outlaw child marriage and safeguards the rights of women in marriage.
- Encourage engagement with religious and traditional leaders, particularly in Ethiopia and Somalia to ensure improved results with respect to gender equality and women’s rights.
- Urge gender mainstreaming across Government ministries and the increased political participation of women in key national decision-making roles and political positions.
- Strongly condemn the harassment and intimidation of WHRDs and call on Member States to ensure their protection as they further their work in safeguarding the rights women and girls, particularly in Somalia and Ethiopia; and
- Appeal for the protection of civil society organizations doing work on human and women’s rights amid concerns of the increasing censorship a
