05.2008 - Source: Sudan Organisation Against Torture

Thousands of people, particularly women and children, enslaved in 2 decades of civil war; victims of abduction used for labour as well as for forced marriage and sexual slavery ("Alternative Report To Sudan’s Periodic Report Before the 43rd Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Swaziland, May 2008)") [ID 24340]

"Prior to the signing of the CPA in 2005, more than two decades of civil war in the South between government forces and the SPLM fuelled conditions which led to thousands of people, particularly women and children, being enslaved.

Slave raids were carried out by a government-backed armed militia known as the Muraheleen, which drew members from the Baggara ethnic group.

These raids primarily targeted Dinka villages in the province of Bahr el-Ghazal.

Thousands of women and children who were captured in the course of the raids were forced into different kinds of abuse, including forced labour as domestic workers, cattle herders and agricultural workers, as well as forced marriage and sexual slavery."

Document(s): Open document

05.03.2008 - Source: Refugees International

Gender-based violence, including domestic violence and forced marriage, reported (" South Sudan: Peace Dividends or Peace Penalties?") [ID 24341]

"Reported issues of ethnic discrimination, recurrent acts of gender based violence, including instances of forced marriages and domestic violence, and conflicts arising around competition for scarce resources and services warrant serious commitment from UNHCR."

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

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

Forced marriage still common, especially in rural areas ("10th European Country of Origin Infomation Seminar Budapest, 1 - 2 December 2005: Final Report on Sudan") [#49770],  [ID 19035]

"The situation of women in Sudan is very difficult. According to the constitution, there should be no discrimination against women, but the reality is different. Forced marriage, which is related to child marriage, is still very common, especially in rural areas. In contravention to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CPC), the Sudanese law does not foresee any minimum age for marriage. If the partners are very young, they have no say in whatsoever case, but forced marriage even happens to older brides.
The father, the brother or another male relative have to sign the marriage contract. Usually in urban areas, first a religious ceremony takes place in the church or in the mosque, and then the male relatives would go with a certificate to the district court or Christian court to get a signature. In the South of Sudan, there are also traditional tribal practices where a wife might be inherited by a male relative if her husband dies.
HA: There are cases of 12-year-old girls forced into marriages with men aged between 40 and 50 years."

Document(s): Open document