Dokument #1003842
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Autor)
According to a researcher at the York
Centre for Refugee Studies in Toronto, it is unlikely that women
would be drafted in the Sudan People's Defense Forces (SPDF)
especially since the government is controlled by fundamentalist
Muslims (4 Jan. 1992). The researcher added that there is an
organization in the Sudan Secret Services called Muslim Sisters
(Ibid.). The duties of this organization of devoted muslim
women is to provide the Sudan Secret Services with information on a
variety of events and subjects like the obligation for women to
wear the tchador (Ibid.). The researcher further reported
that Christian soldiers are under tight surveillance by their
superiors (Ibid.).
According to a professor at the University
of New Hampshire and who is well-versed on Sudanese affairs, women
are not allowed into the Sudanese regular army (4 Jan. 1992). The
professor reported that there is a new Islamic paramilitary
organization called the People's Popular Militia (Ibid.).
This organization is used as a vehicle for ideological and military
training by the National Islamic Front which now controls the
central government (Ibid.). Although the professor is unable
to say whether women are forced to enter this militia, he stated
that women participate in it (Ibid.). The duties of women in
the People's Popular Militia are similar to men's (i.e., military
and ideological training in order to defend the National Islamic
Front) (Ibid.). The professor added that this militia was
also created to counter-balance the regular army (Ibid.).
When women members of the People's Popular Militia are pregnant,
the professor speculated, they probably suspend their training
until after the birth of their babies (Ibid.). Legally there
is no difference between Christian and Muslim soldiers in the
regular army (Ibid.). In practice there are few high
commanding Christian officers today (Ibid.). Since the coup
against Nemeiry in 1985, the number of Christian officers in the
army has decreased significantly, and a number of them are now with
the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in the south
(Ibid.). Christian soldiers who remain in the army are
subjected to tighter surveillance than Muslim soldiers
(Ibid.).
For further information on the
above-mentioned subject please find the attached documents.
University of New Hampshire, Durham. 4
January 1992. Telephone Interview with Professor.
York Centre for Refugee Studies,
Toronto. 4 January 1992. Telephone Interview with Researcher.
BBC Summary of World Broadcasts. 5 March
1992. "Unit of Volunteers Reportedly Heading South to Fight SPLA."
(NEXIS)
_____. 28 September 1992. Egyptian
Agency Reports Opposition Comments on Dismissal of Army Officers."
(NEXIS)
_____. 26 October 1991. "Sudan SPLA
Radio Says Army Purge Continues." (NEXIS)
The Independent. 12 March 1992.
Richard Dowden. "Sudan Steps Up War on Rebels with Iran's Help."
(NEXIS)