2.6. Women and girls

The Sudanese transitional cabinet approved in April 2021 the ratification of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), with significant reservations on articles 2, 16 and 29 of the Convention.478 These reservations have an impact on political and social equality, as well as on acceding equal rights in terms of marriage, divorce and parenting.479 However, as of April 2026, Sudan was not listed amongst the countries having signed or ratified the CEDAW.480 Sudan is a signatory to the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa since 30 June 2008, but has not ratified it yet.481

A study by UNDP, UN Women, UNFPA and ESCWA on Sudanese legislation affecting gender equality informed that, while the Sudanese constitution establishes equality of all persons before the law without distinction based on their sex, the nationality law, criminal laws, personal status laws and labour laws still include provisions that are discriminatory or not fully addressing gender inequalities.482

The Sudanese legal framework does not include provisions specific to domestic violence and marital rape; however, the 1991 Criminal Act, amended in 2015, includes provisions on rape and sexual harassment.483

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) noted that, in areas under RSF control, such as in Darfur, the Sudanese legal system has become ineffective in investigating incidents of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), resulting in survivors of SGBV no longer reporting incidents to the authorities.484 The UN FFM reported in October 2025 that the investigative mechanism set up by the Sudanese authorities to investigate crimes committed by the RSF appeared to register mostly cases related to offences against the state, rather than infringements of human rights or violations of humanitarian law.485 For more information on access to justice, see section 1.2. Rule of law and administration of justice.

  • 478

    Sudan Tribune, Sudan’s cabinet approves CEDAW ratification, 28 April 2021, url; The New Arab, Activists disappointed as Sudan government votes to ratify women’s rights convention with reservations, 30 April 2021, url

  • 479

    VOA, Sudan ratifies Women’s Rights Convention – with exceptions, 29 April 2021, url

  • 480

    UN OHCHR, UN Treaty Body Database, Ratification Status for CEDAW – Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, n.d., url

  • 481

    African Union, List of countries which have signed, ratified/acceded to the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, 19 September 2023, url

  • 482

    UNDP, Sudan – Gender Justice & The Law, 2018, url

  • 483

    UNDP, Sudan – Gender Justice & The Law, 2018, url, pp. 9, 12-13

  • 484

    FIDH, “We were threatened with rape and violence for being Masalit” – from persecution in Sudan to precarity and insecurity in Chadian camps, December 2025, url, p. 7

  • 485

    UN HRC, Paths to justice: accountability for atrocities in the Sudan, Report of the independent international fact-finding mission for the Sudan, A/HRC/60/CRP.7, 24 October 2025, url, para. 7-8