Women in Sudan's Revolution and Conflict
How women led Sudan's 2019 revolution, the gendered impact of the 2023 war, and the fight for women's rights in Sudanese politics.
The 'Kandaka' Revolution
Women were the driving force of Sudan's 2018-2019 revolution to a degree that surprised the world. An estimated 70% of the protesters were women. The iconic image of the revolution was Alaa Salah, a young woman in white standing on a car, leading protest chants — she became known as the 'Kandaka' (Nubian queen). The label spread to all women protesters, and the revolution itself was frequently called the 'Kandaka Revolution.'
Women's prominence in the protests was not accidental. Under Bashir's Islamist regime, women bore a disproportionate burden of repressive laws. The Public Order Act, enforced by morality police, criminalized women for wearing trousers, mixing with unrelated men, or behaving in vaguely defined 'indecent' ways. Women could be arrested, fined, and publicly flogged. These laws — which affected millions of women's daily lives — created a deep reservoir of grievance that fueled revolutionary participation.