Safe spaces transform lives of displaced women in war torn Sudan
When the war broke out, 35-year-old Marwa—not her real name—left Khartoum to seek refuge and safety. Like many internally displaced persons (IDPs), she found herself in Hay Al-Malik, a densely populated neighborhood in the heart of Gadaref State, sheltering thousands of displaced people by the ongoing conflict. Here, IDPs and host community members live side-by-side, often sharing houses due to soaring rents and limited resources.
Marwa's early days were marked by intense psychological stress. Living with more than ten people in a small house without privacy, especially for women, left her feeling isolated and overwhelmed. Cultural differences deepened her sense of displacement, and she struggled to adapt. 'I rarely left the house or spoke to other women,' she shared. 'I didn't know how to adjust or where to turn.'
A turning point came when Marwa heard about a new women's safe space established by Hope and Friendship for Development Organization (HOPE), in partnership with UN Women, and supported by the Government of Japan. Encouraged by outreach efforts in the community, she visited the Al-Malik Safe Space and immediately felt a sense of belonging. It was a space created by and for women—a place to talk, share, heal, and grow.
With each visit, Marwa's confidence grew. She joined a life skills training and received psychosocial support that helped her regain emotional balance. She also participated in awareness sessions on harmful traditional practices, gaining tools to inform and uplift others. Over time, she became actively involved in managing activities alongside social workers, transforming herself from a participant into a leader.
'From the first day, I felt that this space belonged to us,' she said. 'It's our duty to protect it and keep it going.'
Now, Marwa supports other displaced women and girls in accessing the safe space and envisions expanding it further. She emphasizes the need to include children, especially those with special needs, in future programming. She also expresses a strong desire to help sustain the space beyond the program's timeline, working with other women to preserve what they've built together.
Marwa's story illustrates how access to a safe, inclusive space—combined with psychosocial and life skills support—can plant the seeds for long-term empowerment and resilience. With continued support from the Government of Japan and implementing partners, women like Marwa are not only rebuilding their own lives but helping others do the same.
*Marwa's name has been changed to protect her privacy
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of UN Women - Africa.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Zawya
4 days ago
- Zawya
Aid cuts leave refugee agency unable to shelter six in 10 fleeing war in Sudan
Major cuts to aid budgets have already left people fleeing wars in Sudan and beyond without the assistance and protection they need, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday. Globally, $1.4 billion of the agency's programmes are being shuttered or put on hold, UNHCR said in a new report. 'We can't stop water, you can't stop sanitation, but we're having to take decisions when it comes, for example, to shelter,' said UNHCR Director of External Relations Dominique Hyde. 'We're have people arriving on a daily basis from Sudan, from the Darfur regions…arriving in Chad, not able to be given any shelter.' In an urgent appeal for flexible funding from donors, Ms. Hyde noted that up to 11.6 million refugees and others risk losing access this year to direct humanitarian assistance from UNHCR. The figure represents about one third of those reached by the organization last year. On the Sudan-Chad border, the UN agency is now unable to provide 'even basic shelter' to more than six in 10 refugees fleeing the conflict. Thousands more vulnerable people have been left stranded in remote border locations in South Sudan too. 'If we just had a bit more support, we could get them to settlements,' she insisted. Because of the funding cuts, basic activities have already been hit hard. These include refugee registration, child protection, legal counselling and prevention of and responses to gender-based violence. All aid sectors hit In South Sudan, 75 per cent of safe spaces for women and girls supported by UNHCR have closed. That means leaving up to 80,000 refugee women and girls without access to medical care, psychosocial support, legal aid, material support or income-generating activities. This includes survivors of sexual violence, UNHCR noted. 'Behind these numbers are real lives hanging in the balance,' Ms. Hyde said. 'Families are seeing the support they relied on vanish, forced to choose between feeding their children, buying medicines or paying rent, while hope for a better future slips out of sight. Every sector and operation has been hit and critical support is being suspended to keep lifesaving aid going.' Libya influx Many of those impacted by the war in Sudan have taken the decision to move from Chad and Egypt to Libya, into the hands of people smugglers who dangerously overload boats with desperate people seeking to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe. 'What we're observing now is that in terms of arrivals in Europe of…Sudanese refugees, [it] has increased since the beginning of the year by about 170 per cent compared to the first six months of 2024,' said UNHCR spokesperson Olga Sarrado. Support slashed from Niger to Ukraine In camps hosting Myanmar's Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, education for some 230,000 children could now be suspended. Meanwhile in Lebanon 'UNHCR's entire health programme is at risk of being shuttered by the end of the year,' Ms. Hyde continued. In Niger and other emergency settings, cuts in financial aid for shelter have left families in overcrowded structures or at risk of homelessness. In Ukraine, financial aid has also been slashed, 'leaving uprooted families unable to afford rent, food or medical treatment', she noted. Assistance to returning Afghans has also become another victim of global aid cuts. Around 1.9 million Afghan nationals have returned home or been forced back since the start of the year, 'but financial aid for returnees is barely enough to afford food, let alone rent, undermining efforts to ensure stable reintegration', UNHCR said. Legal aid halted Overall, several UNHCR operations hit by severe funding gaps have now had to curtail investments in strengthening asylum systems and promoting regularisation efforts. In Colombia, Ecuador, Costa Rica and Mexico, any prolonged lack of legal status means prolonged insecurity for people on the move, the UN agency said. This results in deepening poverty 'as refugees are excluded from formal employment and greater exposure to exploitation and abuse', Ms. Hyde explained. Approximately one in three of the agency's 550 offices around the world has been impacted by the cuts, Ms. Hyde told journalists in Geneva: 'We're not in a position to do so much contingency planning; what we're able to do is make decisions on priorities and, at this point, the priorities as I mentioned are dramatic.' For 2025, UNHCR needs $10.6 billion. Only 23 per cent of this amount has been provided. 'Against this backdrop, our teams are focusing efforts on saving lives and protecting those forced to flee,' Ms. Hyde said. 'Should additional funding become available, UNHCR has the systems, partnerships and expertise to rapidly resume and scale up assistance.' Distributed by APO Group on behalf of UN News.
The National
5 days ago
- The National
Gazans tie the knot at Emirates Humanitarian City
Housing complex, which currently shelters more than 2,000 Palestinians, celebrated its second wedding this week, a moment of happiness amid the pain of displacement and loss
Zawya
11-07-2025
- Zawya
North Kivu: Living conditions worsen in Bambo – a fragile sanctuary for tens of thousands fleeing violence
Bambo, North Kivu, is facing a rapidly worsening humanitarian crisis as ongoing conflict has forced tens of thousands to flee to the town. Overcrowded shelters, food shortages, and strained health services are pushing displaced families to the brink. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is providing essential care to around 3,700 people each week – an increase of more than 40% since before current wave of mass displacement began. Local needs far exceed current capacity. When fighting erupted in Rushashi, Kinoko* fled with her husband and six children, traveling for weeks through the forest. Armed groups had seized their harvest, forcing them to leave everything behind and lose contact with relatives – whose fate is uncertain. Arriving in Bambo in late June, the family joined tens of thousands of newly displaced people—most of them women and children. Kinoko and her family are currently sheltering in a school, one of 24 collective sites across Bambo, which also include churches and empty buildings. Between May and July, the number of displaced people in the town nearly doubled, surpassing 51,000 and now making up more than 80% of Bambo's population. 'It is difficult to sleep because it is so crowded here. To survive, we go to the fields and ask local residents for manioc leaves and rotten bananas, but even then, we struggle. The kids are so hungry,' she said. Ongoing instability continues to drive mass displacement across Rutshuru territory. Since MSF's last call for urgent action in June, Bambo—one of the region's largest towns—has fallen to the M23 armed group, which remains locked in conflict with Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda [FDLR] and Collective of Movements for Change [CMC] militias. 'I left my home after gunfire broke out between the M23 and CMC,' explained Nsaku*, a 49-year-old man who fled Birambizo with four family members. 'Several houses were set on fire on the pretext that they belonged to the CMC. Given the growing insecurity, I decided it was best to leave after spending a few days hiding in the bush. I had to leave my livestock behind.' Bambo has become a fragile sanctuary for people escaping violence, as conflict continues to devastate the surrounding areas and makes it unlikely that displaced families will be able to return home soon. Armed groups frequently steal harvests, leaving people with few means of survival—even if they were to go back. Many new arrivals are deeply traumatized, and numerous testimonies describe violence allegedly committed by armed groups. A recent arrival to Bambo explained that he fled to the town after hearing bombs explode near the fields where he was living and working. "We were warned that anyone who stayed behind would be killed,' he said. 'One soldier picked up a chicken and cut off its head in front of me, suggesting that I would be next,' said another, who managed to escape. 'Two members of my family were killed.' The humanitarian needs of the town's ever-growing population are immense. Many are living in overcrowded conditions with limited access to clean water and sanitation or basic household items such as cooking equipment; some are unable to find shelter at all; and hunger is rising – the price of beans at the local market has doubled and those displaced people lucky enough to find work typically eke out a living of less than $1 per day working in fields. MSF has operated in Bambo since 2017 and is among the few international medical organizations supporting displaced people in the area, providing care for around 3,700 people each week at the general hospital and health centers in and around the town – up from 2,400 per week prior to the mass displacement. Malnutrition wards have had occupancy rates over 100 percent for close to a month; dozens of sexual violence victims are seen every week; and significant numbers of patients continue to seek treatment for diarrheal diseases and respiratory infections. Malaria cases have surged since July, with a single clinic where MSF operates reporting an average of 341 cases each week over the past month – a figure that continues to grow. This sharp increase is partly due to cuts in international humanitarian funding, including from USAID, which forced the national malaria programme to halt its activities in the area. These funding cuts have also left local health authorities with fewer resources to treat malnutrition, provide post-exposure prophylaxis [PEP] kits, and support Tuberculosis and HIV services. 'Urgent interventions are required not only in the medical sector, but also in critical related areas such as water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), food distribution, and shelter provision. Without comprehensive action in these fields, the risk of disease outbreaks will continue to rise,' said François Calas, MSF's Head of Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo. 'MSF teams will continue to provide lifesaving medical care in Bambo, but we cannot meet alone the growing humanitarian needs of this community. It is vital that other partners step up to avoid disaster.' *Name has been changed Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Médecins sans frontières (MSF).
