As the war in Sudan continues, and with the rise in cases of sexual violence against women, women in Port Sudan are being trained to use weapons, enabling them to use rifles and defend themselves. This is not female empowerment but rather a last resort for women in Sudan. After being forced to leave their homes, housewives, students, and even teachers have gathered here in the city of Port Sudan at a training camp to defend themselves against the Rapid Support Forces.
Following months of escalating tensions in Sudan and increasing rape cases in the capital, Khartoum, and the Darfur region in the west, there is growing fear of these crimes spreading to other states. This concern has prompted women to volunteer in weapons training camps, where the Sudanese army teaches them how to use AK47 assault rifles.
The idea of establishing these special camps for training women came in response to a call from the army's commander-in-chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, to mobilize against the Rapid Support Forces, which are accused of committing widespread human rights violations. According to the British network Sky News, "the motivations for women to join combat training vary; some came out of loyalty to their sons and fathers enlisted in various parts of the country amid the ongoing war, while others came for self-defense."
The network quoted a trainee at one of the camps in Port Sudan, saying, "The scale of rape is unimaginable. We have met girls in these camps who have been raped." The war that broke out in mid-April of last year between the Sudanese army, led by Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, led by the former deputy commander, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo "Hemedti," has resulted in the deaths of more than 12,000 people, according to United Nations experts.
The government's Unit for Combating Violence Against Women and Children reported that the number of cases of rape and sexual violence since the fighting began between the army and the Rapid Support Forces has reached 136. The unit accused elements from the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese army of being involved in those cases and stated that "most of the assaults and cases of sexual violence related to the conflict were committed by the Rapid Support Forces."
