Sudan

34% of girls in Sudan marry before the age of 18 and 12% marry before the age of 15.

Child marriage is most prevalent in East Darfur (where 57% of women aged 20-49 were married before the age of 18), South Darfur (56%) Central Darfur (55%), the Blue Nile (50%) and Gadarif (49%). Child marriage is a common practice in rural areas and differs between nomad and non-nomads. Amongst nomads (Arabs), it is common for young boys and girls to marry, and amongst non-nomads, young girls marry older men.

Child marriage is driven by gender inequality and the belief that girls are somehow inferior to boys.

In Sudan, child marriage is exacerbated by:

● Poverty: 54% of women living in Sudan’s poorest households were married before the age of 18, compared to 19% in the richest households. Many families still negotiate mahr (the payment of money and gifts by a groom) during the marriage contract process, showing a financial incentive to marry daughters young. The highest poverty rates are found in Darfur, Blue Nile, South Kordofan and Red Sea.

● Level of education: 55% of women with no education were married before the age of 18, compared to only 3% who had completed higher education. Girls choosing to finish school are often stigmatised as agir (infertile) or bayra (not demanded for marriage). Parents place little value in their daughters’ education and girls are often perceived as better able to support their family when a husband pays a bride price for her marriage.

● Harmful practices: Many communities believe a girl is ready to marry when she reaches tamyeez (maturity), commonly interpreted as being ten years old.

● Cultural norms: Whilst some younger, more educated tribal leaders approve of girls delaying marriage and going to school, older leaders often still encourage child marriage in compliance with longstanding beliefs and practices. Child marriage is also reinforced by the belief that girls should give birth while they are young, and younger women make better mothers and are easier to socialise into obedience, which is inherent in the Beja silif system.

● Pre-marital sex: Some families marry their daughters when they reach puberty to safeguard their chastity and honour during a time when they are “developing sexual urges”.

● Female Genital Mutilation and Cutting (FGM/C): 87% of women in Sudan have undergone FGM. A 2016 UNICEF study found that girls who have undergone FGM/C are at increased risk of child marriage.

● Religion: In Sudan, child marriage is assumed to be deeply rooted in Islamic principles. It is believed that once a girl has reached the age of 10, she is tamyeez (mature) and ready to be married.

● Power dynamics: Almost 40% of currently married 15-19 year old girls are married to a man who is older than them by ten years or more. Girls rarely have a say in decisions regarding marriage.

● COVID-19: Although very limited data exists, the rate of child marriages in Sudan rose during the COVID-19 pandemic. The main factors that contributed to the rise in child marriages during the pandemic were school closures and loss of financial income. Several initiatives and projects working to eradicate child marriage by various NGOs were impacted, and alternatives strategies were found through using media platforms and digital learning tools.

Humanitarian settings can encompass a wide range of situations before, during and after natural disasters, conflicts, and epidemics. They exacerbate poverty, insecurity, and lack of access to services such as education, factors which all drive child marriage. While gender inequality is a root cause of child marriage in both stable and crisis contexts, often in times of crisis, families see child marriage as a way to cope in greater economic hardship and to protect girls from increased violence.

In April 2023, conflict broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Prior to this, Sudan had been experiencing long-term political instability. The conflict has been concentrated around Khartoum, the North and West Kordofan provinces and Western Darfur.

Political unrest, extreme weather shocks, food insecurity and poverty has left 7.1 million people internally displaced; of that, 3.8 million are newly displaced following political unrest in April 2023. There are approximately 25 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, of which 14 million are children.

Displacement: By the end of 2023, approximately 5 million children were forcibly displaced in Sudan. There are 14 million children in need of humanitarian assistance, and approximately 900,000 children have sought refuge in neighbouring countries since war broke out.

Sudan has committed to ending child, early and forced marriage by 2030 in line with target 5.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals.

The government submitted a Voluntary National Review at the 2022 High Level Political Forum. In this review, the government noted that through the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) (2021-2023), they aim to address poverty disparities and address issues affecting internally displaced persons and war-affected communities on issues such as child marriage, FMG/C, gender-based violence and gender inequality.

The government submitted a 2018 Voluntary National Review at the High Level Political Forum. In this review, the government indicated that half of the Sudanese population are under the age of 18. As of 2018 the population of children was estimated at 21 million, and was expected to reach 27 million by 2030. It was raised that children are vulnerable to rape, child labour, exploitation, trafficking, school drop-outs, harmful practices, FGM (31% of girls between the ages of 0-14) and child marriage (38%).

Sudan co-sponsored the 2017 Human Rights Council resolution recognising the need to address child, early and forced marriage in humanitarian contexts. In 2014, Sudan signed a joint statement at the Human Rights Council calling for a resolution on child marriage.

Sudan ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990, which the Committee on the Rights of the Child has interpreted to recommend the establishment of a minimum age of marriage of 18. Sudan is one of few countries not to have ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

During its 2022 Universal Periodic Review, the Human Rights Council acknowledged the government’s efforts to combat child marriage through the national strategy (2021-2030), and the amended 2020 version of the Criminal Code that criminalised FGM/C under Article 141.

During its 2016 Universal Periodic Review, Sudan supported recommendations to raise the minimum age for marriage to comply with international child rights standards, and to establish a national action plan to prevent child marriage.

Sudan ratified the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child in 2005, but has made reservations regarding Article 21, which commits state parties to banning child marriage.

In 2008 Sudan signed, but has not yet ratified, the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, including Article 6 which sets the minimum age for marriage as 18.

In 2015 Sudan launched the African Union Campaign to End Child Marriage in Africa.

In 2019, at the Nairobi Summit on ICPD25, Sudan committed to zero sexual and gender-based violence, including zero child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation.

At the London Girl Summit in July 2014, the government signed a charter committing to end child marriage by 2020.

Sudan is a partner country of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE).

The National Council of Child Welfare, alongside UNICEF, currently has 2 action plans under development, namely the Child Marriage Action Plan (2021-2030) and the Child Marriage National Communication Strategy.

In 2020, the Directorate of Combating of Violence Against Women (CVAW) in the Ministry of Social Development launched the national standard operating procedures on gender-based violence. These procedures ensure the delivery of high-quality services to victims of gender-based violence

In 2018, the case of Noura Hussein sparked international outcry. She was sentenced to death in May 2018 for killing the man she was forced to marry, as he tried to rape her a second time. While in June 2018 the court of appeal overturned her death sentence in favour of five years’ imprisonment, her case highlights the link between child marriage and violence against women and girls.

In 2015, the first lady of Sudan officially sponsored the National Strategy and launched the First Lady Campaign to End Child Marriage in Sudan. This campaign was officially launched in July 2019.

The National Council for Child Welfare developed a national Child Marriage Abandonment Strategy in 2014. However, as of March 2020 the Strategy is still pending endorsement by the Cabinet of Ministers. As reported by UNICEF, national responses to child marriage are being held back because it is not widely recognised as being an issue, as it believed to be deeply rooted in Islamic principles and is permitted by the law.

Sudan’s National Child Act (2010) defines a child as being below the age of 18 and includes provisions for protecting children from all forms of discrimination. This has been used as a basis to advocate for legal reform of the minimum age for marriage, but has been met by resistance from religious groups.

The Red Sea State Council of Child Welfare conducted educational sessions on child marriage at the local level, mostly in connection with abolishing FGM/C.

Since 2013, the Kassala State Council of Child Welfare has reportedly engaged in a campaign to abandon the practice of child marriage. Kassala has a high prevalence (45%) of child marriage for girls before the age of 15. The main aim of this campaign was to raise awareness on the harmful effects of child marriage. This was done through awareness raising throughout the community using various media outlets.

In the rural state of Algadaref, there exist various organisations, supported by the United Nations and various donors, working to end child marriage, including: the Algadaref State Child Welfare Council, the Zainab Organization for Development, the Sudanese National Committee for Combatting Traditional Practices and the Red Crescent. Despite the existence of these organisations, ending child marriage is not a priority as international efforts mostly focus on activism against FGM and maternal mortality.

There is no minimum age of marriage in Sudan.

Under Section 25(c) of the Muslim Personal Law Act of Sudan 1991 it states that a marriage is valid with the existence of a guardian who can conclude the contract. Under Section 34(1), it states that the marriage of a pubescent woman shall be concluded by a guardian with the permission and the consent to the husband and dowry. Section 40(3) indicates that a minor (from the age of 10) cannot be married without the permission of a judge and it must be proved that this marriage will be in the best interests of the girl, that her husband is suitable and that the husband is able to pay the dowry.