Compass Gender: Sudan Vows to Enforce FGM Ban and Crack Down on Child Marriage

Authorities in Sudan announced on Nov. 27 that they would be enforcing a ban on female genital mutilation (FGM) ratified in July of this year, and they will end child marriage. Both institutions are considered major affronts to human rights and are targeted by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) for 2030.

FGM is the practice in which girls or young women undergo non-medical procedures to partially or fully remove or injure female genitalia. FGM poses several major risks to women’s health risk and has been labeled a human rights violation. The process is often performed on restrained girls by older community members who have no medical training, equipment or anesthetics.

FGM is often performed by community members without medical equipment or anesthetics (Wikimedia Commons).

FGM is traditionally practiced in Sudan in order to prevent girls from experiencing sexual pleasure in an attempt to ensure premarital virginity and fidelity through marriage. Going through FGM is considered by many in Sudan as a “prerequisite for marriage” and is widely practiced in the country. According to the United Nations Population Fund, 88 percent of women in Sudan have undergone FGM. 

Because of this, human rights activists rejoiced when the practice was banned by the mixed-civilian Sovereign Council that took power after the ouster of dictator Omar Al-Bashir in 2019. However, some remain skeptical about the ability of the ban to effectively curb FGM, as every attempt to criminalize it since 1946 has failed. Unfortunately, after the ban came into effect in July, the UN’s partners reported increasing numbers of FGM, most likely due to children being out of school during the pandemic.

Under Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and the mixed military-civilian government installed in 2019, polices like banning FGM been implemented (Wikimedia Commons).

Human rights activists now argue that a ban on FGM is not enough. Nahid Jabralla, founder of Sudan-based SEEMA Center for Training and Protection of Women and Child’s Rights, believes that one important step is addressing the issue through education. “Ending FGM is not only a matter of the law. We need efficient mechanisms, we need resources, we need proper partnerships… We need to go for it and push for it, taking the initiative—and this includes academic institutions. This has to be part of the curricula.” she said.

FGM is not the only human rights violation affecting girls and women in Sudan. The practice of child marriage is also widespread in the country, affecting girls almost exclusively. According to a 2014 UNICEF report, 12 percent of girls are married by the age 15, growing to 34 percent by the age of 18. Girls who are uneducated or live in poorer households are especially vulnerable to child marriage. 

The practice of child marriage stems from many of the same beliefs underpinning FGM. A UN report found that many Sudanese families that practice child marriage do so to preserve the girls’ premarital virginity as they enter puberty. Another traditional idea that facilitates this practice is the concept of tamyeez, meaning maturity, which is reached at the age of ten under Sudanese law. Over a third of child marriages were with men who were at least ten years older, with the girls having little choice in the matter. 

This is not the first time that Sudan has committed to ending child marriage. In fact, Sudan has agreed to do so numerous times in the form of UN resolutions including affirming the UN Sustainable Development goal ensuring gender equality and several other UN human rights resolutions. Sudan also launched the African Union Campaign to End Child Marriage in Africa in 2015. Despite these efforts, Sudan has taken few steps on the national level to raise the minimum marriage age.

Some remain optimistic about this newest round of promises. Jabralla believes that if these promises are accompanied with a genuine campaign, it will be possible to eradicate FGM in Sudan. However, in light of the numerous past attempts to end FGM and child marriage, if these policies are not accompanied by educational efforts and cultural change, they are unlikely to create a lasting impact.