28.05.2008 - Source: Amnesty International

Rape continued to be widespread in 2007; several internally displaced women were raped as they went to collect firewood; FGM continued to be practised in Northern Sudan ("Annual Report 2008") [ID 23352]

"Rape continued to be widespread, especially of displaced women and girls collecting firewood outside their camps.

Sometimes women were beaten, or attacked but managed to escape. They rarely reported what happened to the police.

Men continued to leave the task of collecting firewood to women because the men feared being killed if they ventured outside the camps.

Several internally displaced women, including teenage girls, were raped as they went outside IDP camps in Zalingei to collect firewood in the second half of 2007.

In August a woman was raped who was already eight months pregnant.

Female genital mutilation continued to be systematically practised in northern Sudan."

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

FGM remains widespread but is becoming less common ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 23259]

"FGM remained widespread, particularly in the north.

FGM was becoming less common as a growing number of urban, educated families abandoned the practice.

In a compromise with tradition, some families adopted clitoridectomy, the least severe form of FGM, as an alternative to infibulation.

Although no form of FGM was illegal, the health law prohibited doctors and midwives from performing infibulations, the most common form of FGM.

The government actively campaigned against it. Several NGOs worked to eradicate FGM."

Document(s): Open document

08.2007 - Source: Asylum Aid

Article on British authorities assessing the risk of FGM; information on FGM, domestic violence, forced marriage and other forms of violence against women ("FGM in Sudan – A Country Guidance Case") [ID 24342]

Document(s): Open document

06.03.2007 - Source: US Department of State

Female genital mutilation (FGM) remains widespread in 2006, particularly in North; FGM performed more often in rural areas than in cities ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006") [ID 19838]

"FGM remained widespread, particularly in the north, although it was becoming less common as a growing number of urban, educated families abandoned the practice. In a compromise with tradition, some families adopted clitoridectomy, the least severe form of FGM, as an alternative to infibulation. Although no form of FGM was illegal, the health law prohibited doctors and midwives from performing infibulation. The government did not support FGM and actively campaigned against it. One local NGO worked to eradicate FGM. [...]

FGM on girls was performed commonly in rural areas and less in the cities (see section 5, Women)."

Document(s): Open document

20.04.2006 - Source: Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation

Forms of female genital mutilation (FGM); FGM might be on the rise again ("10th European Country of Origin Infomation Seminar Budapest, 1 - 2 December 2005: Final Report on Sudan") [#49770],  [ID 19036]

"There are three kinds of FGM: The sunna, which is the traditional practice, is the removal of the prepuce and the tip of the clitoris. In the second form, clitoridectomy, the whole clitoris and the labia minor are removed. The third form of FGM, which is called the pharaonic infibulation, is basically a real surgical operation where all external genitalia are removed and stitched up except for a very small opening left.
Most widespread is the sunna form. In 2004, a survey among female university students at Khartoum University (these women belonged to the more educated urban class) showed that 98% of them had been mutilated, most according to the sunna. In rural areas, FGM is even more common than in the urban areas.[...]
There even is a worrying trend that FGM might be on the rise again because some women believe that it would protect them against rape, especially in Darfur. Some women also perform FGM later in life, to prepare for marriage where virginity is important."

Document(s): Open document

20.04.2006 - Source: Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation

Legal situation concerning female genital mutilation (FGM) ("10th European Country of Origin Infomation Seminar Budapest, 1 - 2 December 2005: Final Report on Sudan") [#49770],  [ID 19037]

"There is no law against FGM, except the pharaonic form, which could be prosecuted as bodily harm. The official position of the government towards FGM is ambivalent. The government does not run campaigns against this practice. Educational efforts are left to civil society and women’s movements, which are quite active against FGM and have had some effects in the urban areas of Khartoum. Still, there is very little protection against FGM, because many victims are 5 or 6 years young. The impact of campaigns against FGM, which have been taking place for five to ten years now, cannot yet be measured.
The medical profession put some kind of control in place: FGM must be performed by a professional with a medical licence, otherwise it would be illegal. At the same time, in 2004, the medical council said that it would withdraw the licence of any doctor who would perform FGM. It is not the state who is getting active on this point, it’s the medical profession, and it took a lot of civil society campaigning to get the medical profession that far. As a result, FGM is performed illegally by midwives."

Document(s): Open document

20.04.2006 - Source: Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation

Government policy on female genital mutilation (FGM) contradictory ("10th European Country of Origin Infomation Seminar Budapest, 1 - 2 December 2005: Final Report on Sudan") [#49770],  [ID 19038]

"The government policy on FGM is very contradictory. The Japanese government, together with UNICEF and national NGOs combating FGM, organised a seminar in August 2003 where experts from other countries like Burkina Faso were also invited. In Burkina Faso, FGM has decreased due to campaigning from the international community, the national government and NGOs. One of the recommendations of this seminar was to draft a law for the abolition of FGM throughout the country. A week later, President Bashir stated publicly that the fight against FGM was an imperialist policy and an intervention into the national traditional Sudanese culture. FGM is a practice foreigners can hardly do anything about, because it goes very deep into society. The only chance is to support nationals who fight FGM which adversely affects the health of women and children."

Document(s): Open document

20.04.2006 - Source: Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation

Information on social pressure to perform female genital mutilation (FGM) ("10th European Country of Origin Infomation Seminar Budapest, 1 - 2 December 2005: Final Report on Sudan") [#49770],  [ID 19039]

"The question whether parents who refuse to circumcise their children would encounter problems, is difficult to answer. In Khartoum and other cities they should not be exposed to problems. This, however, also depends on the neighbourhood and the class. Civil society campaigns do have an impact and activists hope that this generation of girls will be less victimised. In the countryside, there is more social pressure to perform FGM. The wish for circumcision might also come from a woman herself who wants to be circumcised to be able to marry, so the issue is very complex in Sudan."

Document(s): Open document