• Download the Sudan section of Home Truths: A Global Report on Equality in the Muslim Family in English or Arabic.

• View the report submitted to Musawah by Sudanese organisations in Arabic and English.

Sudan’s legal system is inherited from the British colonial system, with ‘civil courts’ that administer general laws operating side-by-side with ‘native courts’ in which customary laws were applied. The dual system remained after independence in 1956, but the civil courts and Shari‘ah courts were merged into one system under a ‘Sudanisation’ policy in 1972. In 1983, some of the laws were revised in accordance with Shari‘ah laws and principles. Many provisions that were introduced as ‘Shari‘ah’ law were overwhelmingly discriminatory, restricting women and crippling their freedom and mobility. Examples include laws relating to labour, nationality, public orders, land ownership, personal status and criminal matters.

Sudanese women are severely affected by the ongoing armed conflict, shouldering the burdens of loss of family members, displacement, fragmentation, identity crisis, insecurity, rape and violence, along with increased household responsibility and decreased accessibility to food, shelter, resources, markets and income. Women have largely been sidelined in the Sudan Peace talks and negotiations.

• The 1991 Family Law Act requires reform:
  
  • The consent of a male guardian is required for a marriage contract to be valid. The guardian can petition the court for invalidation of a marriage concluded without his permission.
  • The guardian must consider the character and godliness of the potential husband in deciding on his suitability (kaf‘aa). The stipulation of kaf‘aa impedes marriages across ethnicities and classes.
  • A wife is entitled to maintenance, to visit her relatives, to retain her own private property and dispose of it without interference, and not to be physically or psychologically harassed; in turn she must care for her husband and obey him, be faithful to him and safeguard his properties. She will be declared disobedient if she leaves the matrimonial home, works outside the home, or refuses to travel with her husband without legitimate justification or permission.
  • The minimum age of marriage is the ‘age of discretion', or 10 years old.
  • The law does not provide restrictions on polygamy except for the stipulation of equal treatment for different wives, including separate housing for each wife unless they accept shared housing.
     
• According to the 1991 Nationality Act, children born to Sudanese women and non-Sudanese fathers do not have a right to Sudanese nationality.
   
• Passport and emigrations regulations from 1995 forbid women (with limited exceptions) from travelling outside the country without the consent of their male guardians. This rule is often perceived to apply to travel within Sudan.
   
• The 1996 Public Orders Law for Khartoum state forbids mixed dance; requires one door and ten seats for women in public transportation; specifies that women managing hair dressing shops must be at least 35 years of age; and prohibits men from practicing tailoring work for women unless they obtain approval from the local authorities.
   
• In the Public Service Regulations 1995 for government employees, the family is defined as ‘The worker’s wife (not exceeding four) and his dependent children’.
   
• Women belonging to religions other than Islam must adopt an Islamic dress code, including covering their heads with a veil.

• There have been a number of constitutions throughout the years. The early constitutions (1956, amended in 1964; 1973 Permanent Constitution; 1985 Transitional Constitution) all granted equality, though the equality provisions were not used to strike down discriminatory legislation. In the 1998 Constitution, women are only recognised as having legal status when they are married or are mothers, and women are only referred to in one article, in a very general manner. The July 2005 Interim Constitution, dictated by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the Sudan government and the Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement, includes a bill of rights for the first time in Sudanese history. The Constitution deems all of the international instruments signed and ratified by Sudan as an integral part of the constitution and requires that all laws and regulations to be amended to comply with the constitution.
   
• Sudanese women first enrolled in education institutions in 1907. Urban women developed gender awareness and have strived for women’s rights since the early 1940s, when the Sudanese Women’s Union called for equal pay for equal work, advocated against harmful practices and fought for amendment of the family law, specifically the provision that coerced a wife to return to her husband's house against her will (bayt al-ta‘a). There are dynamic civil society organisations and networks active on women rights, gender equality and eradication of all forms of discrimination against women that have been increasingly involved in advocacy and legislative reform for more than two decades.
   
• Sufism is the predominant religious affiliation, so the traditional Sudanese Islamic thinking tends to be tolerant towards indigenous traditions and customs. Sudan is also the origin of some modern schools of Islamic thought that have shaped a new interpretations regarding equal rights between men and women. However, though prominent political and religious leaders in Sudan advocate for equal rights in public life and political participation, there is more ambiguity in the area of family and personal affairs, as it is based on a combination of Shari‘ah, ‘urf and traditions.
   
• Women’s groups have made some achievements in law reform by harmonising Sudanese legislation with international instruments and changing the negative attitudes of the judiciary, attorney, police, prisons and all others concerned, including the public at large, towards women.