What impact is the Sudan crisis having on girls?
Three young girls share how the crisis in Sudan is impacting their lives – and their futures.
Violent conflict broke out in Sudan in April 2023 and is ongoing. Around 12.6 million people have fled their homes. Some more than once, within and beyond Sudan’s borders.
What it means for Sudan’s girls is that millions of them now live in makeshift, unsafe and unsanitary conditions. Without the chance to go to school. Without access to healthcare. Without enough food to survive.
It also means girls have been exposed to harrowing sexual and gender-based violence.
Samira*, Sara* and Menan are three young women caught up in this crisis. Their stories offer a glimpse into the reality of what is now deemed the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.
*Names changed to protect identity.
Content warning: includes accounts of sexual violence.
Samira’s* story: ‘I cannot be a child'
I have been in Renk (in South Sudan) since June (2023). We lost our mother and left our dad in Khartoum. We don’t know if he is alive or dead.
I came here with six of my younger siblings. Since our parents are not here, I have to take care of them.
I wake up in the morning, fetch water to sell to the tea shop owners, then I use the money to buy something I can cook for us to eat. Sometimes I buy food and sometimes I just buy maize flour to make porridge.
It’s hard taking care of my siblings. Sometimes we have food and sometimes we don’t. I wish my parents were here. It is hard not having parents around. I cannot be a child. My life is hard. I have to work to support my siblings.
My hope is to go back to school so I can have a bright future. I also want to take my siblings to school or get help for them. I want to be a teacher.
Sara’s* story: ‘I got pregnant from that rape’
The soldiers came to our home and shot our dad who was trying to protect us from being taken by the soldiers. They also raped me after killing my dad. I got pregnant from that rape.
Our neighbours were the ones who helped us. They helped transport us to Renk (in South Sudan) and then they left us.
I am the one taking care of my four siblings. I do not know anyone in Renk so sometimes beg for food from our neighbours. Sometimes when they have enough they share, and sometimes they do not have enough, so we sleep hungry.
I had no mother around, so my pregnancy was difficult. I had no food to eat. I gave birth at seven months with the help of the neighbour. My siblings were young. They could not help me.
My neighbour would sometimes be kind and give me hot water to bathe and clean the baby. She also gave me an old bed sheet which is the only thing I use for my baby. I cannot afford baby clothes or bed sheets.
The baby cries all day and night because I have no milk. I don’t have food to eat to produce the milk. Life is hard.
Now I cannot take care of my siblings because I am a young mother. This really frustrates me. I am sad and depressed. I want to go back to school and get a good job to help my child and siblings.
Menan’s story: ‘I was supposed to take my exams’
When we escaped there was a lot of suffering on the way out. My little sister got very tired. She is young and couldn’t walk such long distances. But she had to keep walking. We got thirsty but there was no water nearby. We eventually arrived in Kassala, safe and sound.
Right now in the camp we need water. There is not much water available. In the morning you wait in line for water, then the water gets cut off.
Currently, organisations are supporting us with the necessary supplies. Sanitary pads are very important, because families may not be able to buy pads, so we ask them to support us with sanitary pads. It is important to be able to wash and stay clean.
Before there were toilets, people used to defecate in the open. Now there are toilets, but they are noisy, very public and anyone can enter them.
The schools have closed, which has affected me emotionally, not just me, but all the students. My mother is a teacher and she is doing her best to support me. I was supposed to take my exams and go to high school.
We are struggling to adapt to the new situation as our lives have changed completely.
Help girls affected by the crisis in Sudan
Plan International has launched an emergency appeal and is supporting girls and families affected by the Sudan crisis. But the situation is critical. Famine is on the doorstep.
To turn the tide, we need to talk about Sudan. To draw attention to it. To demand action. Because if we can break the silence, we can help save children’s lives.
And it starts with you, reading Samira*, Sara* and Menan’s stories.