Activist appeals Sudanese women to form political party

Oct 3, 2005 (Nairobi) — A female Sudanese political activist is calling for Sudanese women to form their own political party because they are the most marginalized in society.

In an interview with Sudan Radio Service (SRS) in Nairobi Thursday, a member of the opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA), Thuraya al-Tuhami demanded a fair share of decision making positions, particularly in northern Sudan.

Thuraya said “southern Sudanese women have been recognised by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), they are given 25 percent representation in decision making positions, which is really a great achievement for them. Because they have been fighting beside their men in the fields. But where is the northern woman? This is what we have been demanding in the NDA, we are demanding for more than 35 percent because I think women are more than 50 percent of the Sudanese society.”

Thuraya said that she believes Islamic Sharia laws discriminate against women.

(SRS/ST)