SIHA maintains its observer status at the ACHPR and took the opportunity to voice the concerns of women prisoners in Sudan and the public order regime which unjustly restricts women’s freedoms and rights in public settings. The discriminative laws and practices, leading to corporal punishments such as flogging and death by stoning, which are based on militant interpretations of Islamic guidance are the primary source of legislation in Sudan. SIHA condemns the conditions women prisoners have to endure in Sudan and the fact that they have been imprisoned under the Public Order Law, an outdated, gender biased legal system that is specifically denying women and girls in Sudan their fundamental rights and freedoms.
In addition, SIHA in conjunction with REDRESS, the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) and Amnesty International organized a panel discussion on “Conditions of Women Prisoners and Avenues to Accountability in Sudan.” On the panel were Commissioner Mute, the ACHPR Commissioner on the human rights situation in Sudan, Amnesty International’s Ahmed Elzobier, Redress’ Legal Advisor Judy Oder and SIHA’s Gender Analyst Kafia Omar. The event was moderated by International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) Tcherina Jerolon.
Human Rights Conditions of Female Detainees and Prisoners in Sudan is now available in our Publications.