Gender emergency in Sudan highlights devastating impact on women and girls

Sudan is still faced with one of the worst humanitarian crises in history with women and girls being the epicentre of the calamity. The United Nations has officially declared that the situation is a gender emergency, a state of acceptance that the growing problem in the country since April 2023 has become a civil war that supports inequalities and increases risks to females in all areas. The figure shows that there are close to 12 million displaced people, with most being women and children, whereas violence, starvation and disease are degrading the chances of survival.

The siege in the capital of North Darfur- El Fasher that continues to take place between Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) dislodged the pathway to deliver humanitarian supplies and food to civilians who scramble to eat, drink and get medical supplies. Women are especially vulnerable as direct targets of conflict or abused in situations of displacement and it is shocking how they are also vulnerable to physical and sexual assault and exploitation as well as deprived of sustenance.

Escalating gender-based violence and displacement

It is gender based violence (GBV) that has been experienced thanks to the civil war that the Unit for Combating Violence Against Women of Sudan describe as unprecedented. More than 1,138 rapes have also been recorded officially since the start of the war, and some 193 of them are targeted at children. These are only alarming given the fact that they underrepresent the actual picture of abuse as a result of underreporting occasioned by stigma, fear of consequence as well as inability to access reporting platforms.

The survivors of the war and those of other disputed territories, such as Darfur, report organized attacks in which they are raped to serve as a tool of war as well as terrorizing communities. Victims are across all ages and gender- young girls, older adolescents, and old women, which shows the lack of discrimination the abuse has.

Displacement and food insecurity

Women-headed households account for over 75% of those experiencing acute food insecurity in Sudan. This reflects both the gendered structure of displacement and the collapse of rural economies under the strain of war. The humanitarian needs are estimated at more than 30 million, and 12 million of the displaced are forced into internal exile or fled to neighboring countries leaving a large population reliant on an aid that is not so reliable but always hazardous to receive.

Displacement deprives women of livelihood, subjects them to survival sex and trafficking and intensifies maternal and child malnutrition. Where gender-based violence and chronic hunger overlap has emerged as one of the most defining-and damaging- characteristics of the Sudan gender emergency 2025.

Healthcare collapse and the cholera outbreak

Health in Sudan has virtually collapsed, and two thirds of the citizens cannot afford basic healthcare. The proportions of doctors to patients ratio have collapsed to 1: 24,000, which is highly way below emergency response standards. This breakdown, in fact, is especially lethal to women since reproductive health services, prenatal care and emergency obstetric services most of the time are non-existent in displacement camps.

Cholera as an added threat

Cholera has spread throughout the nation since August 2024, where more than 50,000 cases of cholera have been reported and about 1,350 people have died. Women who are pregnant and lactating are at a higher risk of the disease since dysfunction in the body due to dehydration and malnutrition adds to the risks of the disease. The aid organizations are sending out mobile health units and introducing safe rubrics to women and girls but these are also not enough given the magnitude of the crisis.

Aid delivery challenges and protection gaps

The easy access of humanitarian aid in Sudan is hindered due to the existence of road blockades, bureaucratic obstacles, and continuous conflicts, especially in sites under dispute such as Darfur and Kordofan. When aid convoys finally do make it, they are not necessarily safe havens to women. All this is evidenced by the numbers of distribution-related abuse and harassment. There are little systematic gender-sensitive protective mechanisms.

Absence of secure reporting systems and poorly funded protection initiatives will weaken the effectiveness of humanitarian interventions and its credibility. These deficits are important aspects to address in order to protect not only physical but also moral and agency of women and girls in crisis.

Women’s resilience and leadership

Despite the dangers, Sudanese women are emerging as critical agents of resilience. They coordinate aid distribution, run informal education initiatives for displaced children, and provide psychosocial support in camps. These grassroots networks are often the only lifeline for the most vulnerable, filling the vacuum left by collapsed state institutions.

Mohamed Kamal, Country Director for Plan International Sudan, has described Sudanese women as “the glue holding communities together,” working tirelessly to maintain social cohesion amid chaos.

The call for inclusive peace processes

Peacebuilding efforts have repeatedly sidelined women’s participation, even as their role in community stabilization is undeniable. Advocates stress that sustainable peace requires women’s full inclusion in negotiations, reconstruction planning, and governance structures. Without it, the cycles of marginalization and violence are likely to persist.

This person has spoken on the acute vulnerabilities Sudanese women face amid the ongoing crisis, urging expanded protection and inclusion in peace processes to mitigate humanitarian suffering.

2025 developments and regional implications

The humanitarian situation in Sudan is getting worse three years into the conflict. Refugee flows are straining fragile systems in neighboring countries including Chad, South Sudan and Egypt, which are in turn unable to cope with inflows. One effect of the crisis is that it has led to destabilizing effects in the Horn of Africa, and there are indications of spill overs in security analysis of the region.

International agencies have ramped up their efforts aimed at women and girls-such as UN Women and UNFPA that have ramped up mobile health clinics, the number of safe houses and psychosocial assistance. However, the magnitude of such programs is still being dulled by underfunding and limited accessibility.

Sudan gender emergency 2025 is more than a humanitarian disaster; this is a test of global commitments towards gender equality in crisis response. To overcome it, one needs to bring diplomatic pressure to facilitate humanitarian access, invest in female-led peace-building and recovery initiatives, and provide gender issues with focus in all peace and reconstruction policies.

The women in Sudan are at the center of various crises; conflict, hunger, disease and displacement, yet they are seen to be remarkable in terms of survival amidst crisis. The ability of the international community to take definite action to take their side will not only determine the future course of the Sudanese recovery, but also the viability of the humanitarian and human rights declarations of the international community.