Call for more policewomen in Sudan’s rural areas

The Sudanese police needs more women officers, to help and protect victims of gender-based violence, says activist Kamelia Kuku.

In a workshop on Democratic Transformation from a Feminist Perspective in Khartoum yesterday, the director of the Nuba Women Organisation for Education and Development called on the police and the public prosecution to treat victims of rape “confidentially and with respect”.  

Kuku said that the victims' and their families’ fear for scandals often makes them refrain from filing an official complaint. More women should join the police, and more police women should be trained in dealing with the victims, to realise better mental care and justice for them.

She stressed the need to appoint police women in the countryside, in particular in remote places, in addition to the provision of more and better health care in rural areas.

In addition, members of community networks should be trained to raise awareness among the Sudanese concerning the impact of gender-based violence on women and their children.

The gender activist demanded a just and comprehensive peace in the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan, so that access to areas controlled by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North will be guaranteed as well.

She further called for acceleration of the establishment of the Women and Gender Equality Commission, to push for the realisation of gender equality in the country and ensure the participation of women “at all levels of power”.