WOMEN AND POLITICAL PARTICIPATION
illusion and reality of women’s emancipation
in the Sudan
“The
full realisation of all human
rights and fundamental freedoms of all women is essential for the
empowerment of women”
Fourth Conference on Women 1995: Beijing Declaration
(Paragraph 9)
It
is a well known fact nowadays that the participation of women in the economic,
social and political affairs of any country is a prerequisite for the
sustainable development of that country. The word development here is used in the widest sense of the word that
definitely does not mean just ‘growth’ as measured in the past, even by UN
agencies, and now abandoned because of its numerous proven limitations. The
inadequacy stems from the fact that, as an indicator, the rate of growth
concept does not incorporate important aspects like health, literacy, life
expectation, among others which are generally called social and human resource
development. It is, therefore, expected that issues related to women are incorporated
within this wider concept. Women, after all, constitute at least half of the
human resources of any country and the degree of their education, health,
participation rate in the labour force, legal rights, ..etc. are important
indicators of the level of social development a country has achieved.
Today,
discrimination against women and their oppression, or even harassment, are no
longer tolerated in any form by the international community. The question of
women’s participation in education, the economic and political life of any
country has become a central issue and sometimes a prerequisite for some kinds
of international aid. The international concern for the rights of women, which
has become integrated within the wider concern for human rights generally, led
to a greater willingness to organise and finance varied activities related to
women’s issues. The proliferation of publications, documentation and study
centres, consulting groups, seminars, conferences, for instance, are some of
the results which reflect that concern and
generosity. Another result is the attempt to target women specifically
in rural development projects or consider their participation a prerequisite
for aid to the developing countries including Sudan.
In
this discussion the political participation of women is considered within the
context of the briefly described status of women in the Sudan at present. The
questions asked include those which often arise, when the issue of the
liberation of women is discussed, and that is the extent to which this
favourable international climate helped this country in furthering women’s
cause generally and their political participation in particular; or what are
the effects of the political system and the degree of independence of civil
organisations from the state on the role of women and their participation in
politics in Sudan, ..etc. The question of women and political participation
acquires additional significance at this time because:
Firstly, the declared ‘Islamisation’ of the Sudan under
the present regime and their propaganda barrage in schools and all the media
which profess loudly the claim that women under their Islam enjoy rights that
no other country or society can boast of. This exploitation of religion for
political ends always complicates opposition in a traditional society.
Secondly, the de-facto limitations on all women’s rights gained
through their past struggles with regulations defining women’s dress codes,
restrictions on their travel and employment opportunities, and the changes in
the school curriculum to reinforce male supremacy. This is coupled with the
enforced total monopoly of all social
and political organisations which deprived the civil society in the Sudan from
organising freely or independently from the state. This negative gender bias,
together with lack of freedom of association, deprives women of the favourable
climate and the instruments necessary for struggle to attain equality or even
justice.
It
is factors such as these that determine the degree to which women succeed in
making their emancipation and full equality a true reality. It is factors such
as these that determine whether full participation in the social, political and
economic life of the country is feasible for the majority of women or not. It
is factors such as these that determine the setting of priorities in the
women’s activities to enable all
women to realise their full potential within which their political
participation can take place fruitfully. In short, it is success in the
creation of a new democratic environment which helps to empower every woman and enables each one of them to choose freely
her own destiny that makes political participation truly possible.
Look Back In ‘Some’ Anger
As an African country that achieved political
independence over 40 years ago, (January1956), and which had a varied women’s
movement even before that, the Sudan should be in the front lines of the
struggle for the emancipation of women.
The reality of the Sudanese woman at present, however, is very different as
will be elaborated briefly below.
Before going any further, let
it be stated at the outset that by “women’s movement” is meant literate,
urbanised women in the North mainly. Sadly, the historical fact is that the
Sudanese women's organisations did not effectively penetrate either Southern
Sudan or the rural areas in any sustainable way. Thus, strictly speaking, the
organised women’s movement in Sudan was not - organisationally - a truly
national movement because it did not cover the whole country or even most of
it. This, inevitably, made it more vulnerable to political oppression and
limited its otherwise notable successes. Moreover, the early start of women’s
organisations forced it to deal with the reality of:
a) The high illiteracy rate among women of 99%
which is now reduced to a glorious 84%. This made communication difficult and
limited in scope which hampered organisational spread.
b) The social constraints in the forties and
early fifties on girls’ freedom of movement and travel outside the home in
urban areas, the main theatre of operation of women’s organisations.
c) The general disinterest of the major political
parties in organising women and addressing their issues until after the success
of the struggle in gaining full political rights in 1964. The notable exception
is the positive role of what later
became the Communist Party of Sudan which itself is mainly literate/urban/northern despite its influence on the organised
labour and peasant movements throughout the country.
The
first organisations for women were really trade unions for teachers and nurses
whose meagre pay and conditions were inferior to that of men. Their demands for
equal pay and better conditions cannot be easily described as ‘political
participation’ despite the fact that the all-male Graduates Congress had, by
then, already demanded self determination for the country in its famous
memorandum of April 1942. Nevertheless, the mere fact that these women were organised at all was a great leap
forward for women at the time. In fact, it constituted a sign of awareness
which continued to develop into other organisations for women formed only after
those first two pioneering trade union groups.
The
issue of the liberation of women in the Sudan and their role in society was
raised in an organised way in the mid 1940s. Before that the calls were for the
schooling of girls pioneered by Babiker Badri in 1908, who insisted on opening
his school in Rufaa despite being told by British that he was ‘mad’. That was followed by a memorandum from an all-male
group of ‘notables’ whose request was also for a government girls’ school in
the capital as the only school for girls at the time was the Christian Mission
School. The 1928 report of Wadi Halfa District Commissioner complained that the
request to open a girls school, which was repeatedly presented each consecutive
year by the Nubians, was being ignored by the Department of Education. He
indicated that he agreed with them that education was their only viable
investment in a poverty stricken region characterised by limited agricultural
land.
Education
of girls did eventually progress but at a very slow pace. There was the
midwifery school in Omdurman at first which boasted of their ability to train
midwives efficiently and teach them to recognise drugs visually and by smell
without attempting to liberate them from illiteracy! The training of nurses was
also done within hospitals in the same manner. The only exception where girls
in training were required to be literate was, obviously, teacher training which
began soon after that in 1926. Thus, by the time some pioneering women thought
of banding together as women in the forties, there was only a
single intermediate school (grades5-8 opened in1945) and another two-year
single post-primary teacher training ‘college’ for girls opened earlier for the
whole of the Sudan. These two institutions together with the single secondary
school which was opened later in 1949 were, predictably, all located in
Omdurman within the capital and their product was to have a lasting and
significant effect on the whole of the women’s movement in the Sudan.
Thus,
the origin of the women’s movement became the literate urbanites of
Omdurman including the Sudanese Women’s Union, the largest and most influential
of the women’s organisations. Even for this conscious progressive group, the
one million square miles of the Sudan became a theoretical consideration rather
than a practical organisational reality. The fact that teachers were liable to
transfers was a blessing in a way and a curse in another. On the one hand, they
were asked to form branches wherever they went, which they did, but on the
other hand, these literate urbanised teachers were often unable to leave a sustainable institution behind. So their
expended efforts and the branches they created withered away sooner or later
after their departure from the various regional localities. No wonder, since
these branches did not really succeed in empowering those women to enable them,
through active and conscious collective participation,
to hold real organisational power by becoming the subjects rather than objects
of social change.
Looking
back in anger without considering the mitigating circumstances would be unfair
because sustainable participatory methods of organisation and institution
building are not easy even today. Although some individuals are naturally
talented in initiating and obtaining
the sustained effort of others, the majority of people are not so
naturally endowed. This means that some training was required for those
would-be animators and agents of awareness and change but at that time there no
UN agencies willing to operate through or with NGOs or any democratic
organisations as they do nowadays.
However,
it is fair to state firstly, that the
leadership of the Union in Omdurman were the first to open the membership to
illiterate women after heated discussions in the early months of its life(1952)
before women got the right to vote.
This fact alone had a profound effect in the subsequent development of the
Union and helped to make it truly the largest and most representative among the
women’s organisations of the time. Secondly,
this Union was the first women’s organisation to spell out and demand all women’s social. economic and full
political rights on behalf of women in the whole of the Sudan. In fact, they
risked a significant split in the Union by the (Muslim Sisters) because they
could not agree on all those demands and this opened the door to the false
accusation that the Union was a communist front organisation. These historical
facts alone show that the Union leadership was conscious of their limitations
but had little means on hand, material or otherwise, to rectify them. Perhaps
it is fair to say that these two facts alone might absolve them from any contemporary total
damnation.
Politics? The No, God
Forbid..
Women’s
organisations, including the Sudanese Women’s Union, keep repeating that they
are social non-political organisations whose aim is the liberation and progress
of women generally. That social issues are never neutral or value-free has
always been, and will continue to be, an objective reality. The very choice of
activities that each one of them tried to implement, reflected that
non-neutrality. Why then this (No, God forbid) response to any overtly
political issue? For some this peculiar attitude is truly confusing and even
not acceptable especially from the Union. They knew that the Union and its
magazine stood up and participated in the popular struggle facing the tanks in
front of the Judiciary centre until democracy was restored in 1964. What is
the mysterious reason behind their
persistent verbal denials that they are politically oriented when they have had
specific historic stands?
The
explanation of that seems complex, but basically it is that the political
development of the Sudan was repeatedly interrupted by dictatorial regimes
which confiscated democratic rights three times after independence. Of the 489
months of independence we enjoyed democracy for 138 months only and suffered
351 months of dictatorship so far. No democratic government during most of the
independence years lasted to complete its term and give the electorate a chance
to return it to office or change it. This lack of a recurrent democratic
electoral process deprives people of the political education it generates and
delays the maturation of awareness among people generally and women in
particular.
Thus,
everybody becomes forcibly exposed to the effects of the propaganda machine of
dictatorial regimes especially Nimairi’s regime. This regime sought to gain
legitimacy by deliberately defaming political affiliation and propagating
erroneous concepts about political parties. The perpetual use of epithets like
dirty, ugly, disloyal, atheist, sectarian,
gained enormous stature during this period. That said, the most
vulnerable to the propaganda barrage were evidently the literate, urbanised elite. The illiterate marginalised
people, whom every dictator claimed that the usurpation of power by force was
for their sake, were the least affected. Understandably, the fact that untold
numbers of this elite became the new ministers and the managers of the economy
and the civil service helped a lot.
The
effect of a political climate that is inimical to political affiliation
generally and radical tendencies specifically, always outlasted the dictatorial
regimes. The literate urbanites, who still lead the democratic movement
including women’s organisations, became the unconscious victims of that
climate; hence the repeated denials of their political stand. The de-facto
participation in selective political activity, to great positive effects on
women who showed their true independence in the 1965 elections, turned into
‘No..God forbid’ after the 16 years of propaganda and mud slinging at politics
and politicians to distance organised effective people from real political
participation.
..and the De-facto Yes
Let us first be clear about what is meant by political participation. The indicators
found in the literature generally seem to concentrate on the following:
a) The equal
political rights for women i.e. the
right to elect and be elected.
b) The proportion of
women in parliaments both local and national.
c) The proportion of women in other political
institutions and regional or national ministerial councils and similar
politically filled decision-making posts.
d) The proportion of women in the
leadership of political parties (where they are permitted and allowed to
operate legally).
The first objectionable aspect about these indicators and
their application is that they do not differentiate explicitly between
democratic and non-democratic countries. In the case of this country, for
example, the reports glibly write about the proportion of women in an appointed
parliament or number of female ministers in the central or state governments as
if this in itself is a positive development (which should be welcomed
perhaps?). The fact that the world is now committed to human rights and many
have linked it to their foreign policy and
aid programmes, does not absolve gender studies from considering all
democratic rights a prerequisite in the wholesome political participation for
women. The women’s struggle for democracy should be the prime target of all
their activities rather than running after pseudo parliamentary seats and sham
ministerial posts that benefit only their holders.
When
the dark sea of war and total oppression engulf a country, in which women
generally suffer the lion’s share, gender conscious studies and activities
ought to be clearly directed towards the goal of restoring all human rights first. Asking how many women are
ministers or members of parliaments in any dictatorship is asking the right
question at the wrong time and place. Writing about such aspects as ‘progress
for women’ inevitably plays into the hands of the oppressors when they happily
quote such statements in their state monopolised or state controlled mass
media.
The
women’s movement (The Sudanese Women’s Union particularly) was always aware of
that link. They actively participated in the struggle for democratic rights
since they joined in the memorandum in 1954/55 and the subsequent
demonstrations mainly with the trade unions and students to demand the repeal
of the article 105 and the Law of Subversive Activities. In Arabic orقانون النشاط الهدام
The
Union’s monthly magazine (Sawt al-Maraa
or women’s voice) did not restrict itself purely to the traditional (female)
subjects, but was also concerned with national and international political
concerns. This was especially pronounced during the first military regime
(1958-64) when the contents of the magazine addressed varied political issues
and helped in mobilising women (and men) against the dictatorial regime. All
the editorial board of the magazine was made up of women although some men did
contribute articles to it. What was officially
a women’s magazine turned into one of the most effective weapons in the
struggle for democracy in addition to the advocacy of women’s rights. In fact,
the campaign for marriage rights (choosing the husband, children’s
guardianship, return of wives against their will etc.) succeeded in 1960 under
the dictatorial regime.
When all women’s organisations, including the Union, were
liquidated by that same regime and were expected to join their new single
organisation for women, the Union leadership refused to join because they
believed in the importance of independence from the state. They, correctly and
courageously, advocated their belief that any government-led organisation can
never be truly democratic and so tried to continue their activities
clandestinely despite formidable difficulties. Many of the difficulties
encountered then were further complicated later under the brutal and more
sophisticated second military regime of Nimeri (May1969-April1985).
It
was during this second dictatorship that some leading Union members were lured
by the regime through senior political posts including (for the first time)
ministerial positions. This may be considered progress by some, but whether it
really was so must be open to question. After all, he who ‘gives’ can also ‘take’ and when the giver is the
dictatorial state, then guarantees of continuity become non-existent. Even if
the state is democratic with credible popular mandate, the independence of all democratic institutions of the civil society
ought to be jealously guarded as the only guarantee for serving the aims of
their organisations and the interests of their members. The Sudanese Women’s
Union must be commended not only for advocating among women the importance of
defending democratic rights in the country, but also for standing consistently
with the independence of the Union which is a basic political principle for all
time. This concept must have become abundantly clear now that the National Islamic
Front (NIF) has destroyed the civil society in the Sudan and monopolised
everything under the present dictatorship.
The
plight of the Sudanese women at the end the century bears little resemblance to
what it was like when the dawn of organised women’s activities began to break
in its middle. That the academic
criteria set for the political participation of women would probably not
reflect most of that deterioration is a sad fact. Where would the fact that the
mass media used to address its audience: Ladies and Gentlemen orسيداتي آنساتي سادتي at that time and now they merely say: Brothers or أيها الإخوة be categorised? Under those
mechanical criteria, where would we categorise the fact that, despite the women
ministers and numerous members of parliament, women professionals need the
approval of men (father, brother or husband) to travel abroad to present a
paper? Worst of all, where would you categorise the internalisation of oppression by
young women that is happening every minute under the guise of religion whereas
it is a defence mechanism against the brutality of the
regime that has appointed more of their female supporters in various activities
than any other?
Sudanese
women would certainly opt for the dignity of freedom of association, of dress
and of travel, to participation in sham
legislatures, and dictatorial and basically powerless councils of ministers.
This is, or would have been, a truly participatory political choice - if they
were asked first.
Suad Ibrahim Ahmed
Khartoum, October
1996