33 Countries of Origin’ Profiles

SUDAN 4 Tensions over border and oil issues between Sudan and South Sudan remain unresolved, and have led to grave human rights violations, crimes against humanity and severe humanitarian crises in the country’s South, Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile regions 7 . In late 2015 and early 2016, violence surged in Darfur, displacing tens of thousands of civilians. Arrests, restrictions on public gatherings and limits on freedom of speech are a daily occurrence. President al-Bashir, who was indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes in Darfur, was re-elected in 2015 8 . CULTURAL TRADITIONS: Alcohol is forbidden across much of Sudan, where Islam is strictly observed. The Islamic religion plays an important role in the life of many Sudanese 9 . The Sudanese culture is an interesting mix of beliefs and practices, due to the presence of numerous ethnic groups and tribes. Western clothing is worn in the cities; Muslim women in the north cover their heads and entire bodies to the ankles, by wearing the tobe , a long semi-transparent fabric over other clothing. Men often wear a long white robe called the jallabiyah , and a cap or turban. Facial scarring is an ancient Sudanese tradition, which persists today. Although different tribes have different markings, scarring is generally considered as a symbol of bravery for men, and of beauty of women. In the Shilluk tribe, scarring will take the form of a line of bumps along the forehead; in the Nuer tribue of six parallel lines on the forehead, and in the Ja'aliin tribe, of mark lines on cheeks. In the south of the country, women may have their entire bodies scarred in patterns reflecting their marital status and number of children. In the north, women commonly have their lower lips tattooed 10 . GENDER RELATIONS: Arranged marriages between cousins, second cousins, or other family members are the norm. It is not uncommon for older men to marry young women who have just finished school, at age nineteen or twenty. In rural areas, women are married off at an even younger age 11 . Forced early marriage is reported to be a significant problem in Sudan. Under Islamic family law, men can divorce women by simply stating: ‘I divorce you’, while women can file for divorce under certain circumstances. Abortion is only permitted to save the life of the mother and is banned in the case of rape or incest. Married women cannot 7 https://www.insightonconflict.org/conflicts/sudan/conflict-profile/ 8 https://www.usip.org/publications/2016/05/current-situation-sudan 9 http://www.our-africa.org/sudan/people-culture 1 0 http://www.everyculture.com/Sa-Th/Sudan.html#ixzz4oQtZ15x4 1 1 http://www.everyculture.com/Sa-Th/Sudan.html#ixzz4oQtZ15x4 Woman wearing the tobe at a wedding ©Flashback Summer