KHARTOUM - Sudanese women were at the forefront of the protests that toppled autocrat Omar al-Bashir but 11 months on, activists are disappointed at a lack of progress on women's issues.
"Nothing has been done to meet women's demands," Zeineb Badreddine, one of the protest organisers, said on Saturday. When Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok formed his government in September, he vowed to improve the situation for women despite the country's economic and social difficulties. "If women had better representation, they would have more voices to defend their cause," said Badreddine.Under the Islamist regime, a notorious "public order" law was used to have women publicly flogged or imprisoned for "indecent" dress or for drinking alcohol, seen as "indecent and immoral acts".
She says the legislation, inspired by Islamic law, allows 10-year-old girls to be married against their wishes.