War drives 35,000 divorces in Sudan as economic pressure tears families apart
June 2, Khartoum— Around 35,000 divorce cases have been recorded in Sudan since the outbreak of war in April 2023, according to sources in the Sudanese judiciary who spoke to Sudan Tribune, in what social researchers describe as an unprecedented social rupture driven by economic collapse and family displacement.
Family sociology researchers attribute the sharp rise to the radical shift in economic and social roles imposed by the conflict, including the loss of savings and jobs by breadwinners and the near-total suspension of salaries for more than three years.
Khartoum state led all regions in divorce petitions, khul cases, and alimony claims, followed by Gezira state and then the five Darfur states. High rates of divorce and alimony claims were also recorded in the courts of River Nile, Northern, Red Sea, Gedaref, and Kassala states — areas that have received large numbers of displaced families from Khartoum, Gezira, and Darfur.
The war has placed men under enormous pressure due to their inability to meet basic family needs, whether in displacement shelters or in the high-cost rented accommodation of stable states and neighbouring countries.
Recent UN data indicate that women and girls account for more than 53% of the millions displaced internally and externally since the war began, making them the group most exposed to the consequences of fragmentation and displacement. UN Population Fund reports show that more than 4.2 million women and girls in Sudan are in urgent need of protection and care services due to increasing gender-based violence and the economic pressures resulting from family breakdown in displacement settings.
International data show that approximately one million displaced women have suddenly become sole household heads — following the death, separation, or displacement of their husbands to other states — leaving them with the double burden of providing food and financial security for children in environments ill-equipped to support them.