The Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA) Network strongly condemns the abduction and enforced disappearance of women and children by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and affiliated militia in and around El Fasher. Such conduct is a flagrant violation of international humanitarian and human rights law, amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Women market vendors (WMVs) sustain households, feed communities, and power local economies, often as primary breadwinners and caregivers. Yet, the spaces that depend on their labour remain perilous and poorly governed.
Across nine (9) markets in Arua City, the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA) Network’s recen
Unsafe and Unheard: Women Market Vendors Demand Social Protection and Economic Justice Read More »
To Permanent Representatives of Member and Observer States of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council (Geneva, Switzerland)
Your Excellencies,
Ahead of the UN Human Rights Council’s 60th session (8 Sep¬tem¬ber-8 October 2025), we, the un¬der¬si¬gned civil society orga¬ni¬sa¬tions, write to urge your delegation to support a mandate extension for the Inde¬pen¬dent International Fact-Fin¬ding Mission (FFM) for the Sudan.
“After the war broke out, I was in a difficult psychological state due to fear and anxiety caused by the constant sounds of shelling and gunfire. The children at home were in a state of shock,’’ Laila says, with sadness filling her voice.
Originally from Khartoum, Laila was forced to flee her home after the war broke out on April 15, 2023.
The struggles and resilience of a Sudanese woman, in the conflict: Laila’s story Read More »
Produced by Adala Project with the support of SIHA Network, this report documents grave human rights violations committed between April 2023 and January 2025 amidst the ongoing war in Sudan. It reveals the systematic use of rape, abduction, starvation, and ethnic targeting as weapons of war, disproportionately affecting women and girls.
Since April 12, 2025, the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA) Network has closely followed the Rapid Support Forces’ (RSF) brutal attack on Zamzam Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camp, North Darfur. SIHA has issued two statements on the situation, highlighting
PRESS STATEMENT: Current Update on Atrocities at Zamzam Displacement Camp, North Darfur Read More »
Your Excellency, Honourable Commissioner Hatem Essaiem,
The Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA) is a regional feminist network with over 200 member organizations working across South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia, and the Somali region. We welcome this opportunity to address the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) this session.
The Horn of Africa region has a history of complex peace and security issues driven by governance challenges and regional geopolitics, leading to prolonged and renewed cycles of conflicts. As a result, the region has seen high levels of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) against women and girls. Statistics show that 42% of women in the region have experienced some form of physical or…
In the aftermath of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) brutal attack on Zamzam Camp — one of Darfur’s largest and oldest displacement camps —on April 12, 2025, new and horrifying details continue to emerge. Zamzam, home to between 350,000 and 500,000 displaced civilians, has become the latest epicentre of mass atrocity crimes perpetrated by the RSF.
Press Statement: Update on Atrocities at Zamzam Displacement Camp, North Darfur Read More »
SIHA Network expresses deep devastation and outrage over the Rapid Support Forces’ (RSF) brutal attack on the Zamzam IDP Camp in North Darfur today, which killed over 112 civilians in just a few hours, including children, the elderly, and women.
We are dismayed and shocked by the loss of community workers and volunteers from the women-led community kitchen we have been supporting and partnering with inside the Camp.
