The Dilemma of Being a Woman Journalist in Sudan

Sudanese Media Forum

Khartoum (Femal journalsts network Sudan – Madamik) – For years, journalism in Sudan has faced successive crises that have negatively affected the media work environment, freedom of expression, and the independence of media institutions. Since the outbreak of the war on April 15, 2023, media institutions have been subjected to destruction, with offices and property bombed and looted, journalists displaced, and many outlets forced to shut down. Others continue to operate at extremely limited capacity, not exceeding 1 percent. Journalists have been killed, arrested, and tortured. The Sudanese Journalists Syndicate confirmed the deaths of 32 journalists since the start of the war. These violations have severely impacted journalists—particularly women journalists—and the media sector as a whole.

Documentation and Monitoring

According to a report prepared by the Sudan Women Journalists Network, a copy of which Madamik obtained, Sudanese women journalists have been subjected to numerous violations and targeted both because of their journalistic work and their gender. These violations include killing, displacement, arrest, sexual violence, judicial harassment, confiscation of property, and travel bans. They have also faced widespread digital violations and online violence, including bullying, defamation, verbal abuse, and harassment on social media platforms.

The network documented increasing risks faced by women journalists due to the war and a media environment it described as never having been friendly to women journalists. These risks include killing, arrest, torture, sexual violence, displacement, travel bans, denial of access to identity documents, as well as a marked rise in social and domestic violence, online harassment, smear campaigns, cyber threats, repeated threats via phone calls and social media, raids on journalists’ homes in conflict areas, confiscation of work equipment such as smartphones and cameras, and organized defamation campaigns targeting specific women journalists.

Harassment and Intimidation

The report revealed a decline in women journalists’ presence in field reporting, particularly in areas experiencing military operations or requiring passage through multiple checkpoints, where sexual harassment against women increases. This has limited the gender-sensitive reporting women journalists used to conduct before the war, including coverage of gender issues, humanitarian crises, women’s suffering, and amplifying the voices of survivors of sexual violence, displacement, and abuses affecting women and girls.

Lack of Psychological Support

The network identified a significant gap in psychological support services available to women journalists, with only 40 percent having received any form of psychological support since the war began. The report showed that 52 percent of women journalists remain inside Sudan, while 48 percent have relocated to other countries. Meanwhile, 32 percent have been internally displaced, and 48 percent are refugees in neighboring countries or beyond the region. The remaining 20 percent reported that they are still living in their original areas despite the risks and challenges.

Despite the dangers and suffering, the report noted a slight improvement in women journalists’ professional continuity, largely due to their rapid adaptability and strong professional commitment. The percentage of women journalists who continued working rose to 72 percent, compared to just 10 percent in the early months of the war, despite the deterioration of the labor market and the exploitation of wartime conditions to reduce salaries and pay for journalistic work.

Pressures and Burdens

Financial insecurity remains a major crisis threatening the sustainability of journalistic work, compounded by electricity and internet outages and the lack of work equipment. Data indicated that 56 percent of women journalists lost their jobs or experienced reduced income for themselves and their families, especially amid rising living costs in displacement areas and countries of asylum. The situation is further exacerbated by the fact that 56 percent of women journalists are the primary breadwinners for their families, placing additional financial pressure on them.

As violence has become a defining feature of the war, 40 percent of women journalists reported experiencing some form of violence, most notably psychological and verbal abuse and threats, amid a significant gap in specialized training. Seventy-two percent of women journalists reported receiving no training on crisis and conflict reporting or safety training during the war.

Urgent Interventions

Data and testimonies from women journalists indicate that Sudanese women journalists today are not only struggling to convey the truth but are fighting for their personal and professional survival amid eroding financial and psychological support. The report underscores the urgent need for interventions to provide employment opportunities, strengthen psychological and social safety networks, and offer specialized safety training to address the gaps exposed by the war.

The report also warned of the targeting and hacking of the personal social media accounts of 26 women journalists, as well as the creation of fake pages using journalists’ names.

Atrocities and Killings

The report documented violations that the Women Journalists Network said do not represent the full scale of abuses committed, due to the severe challenges facing documentation and information gathering amid the ongoing conflict and internet shutdowns in several parts of the country.

Killings

On June 30, 2023, journalist Samaher Abdel Shafi, who worked for Zalingei Radio, was killed when a shell struck the house where she was staying at Al-Hashahisa Camp in Zalingei, Central Darfur State.
On October 10, 2024, Halima Idris Salem, a correspondent for Sudan Bokra TV, was returning home after completing reporting for a story on victims of clashes in Old Omdurman neighborhoods. Unaware that she was being followed by individuals determined to prevent her report from being published, she was run over by a vehicle belonging to the Rapid Support Forces and died instantly.
On December 8, 2024, journalist Hanan Adam, who worked at the Ministry of Culture and Information in Al-Jazira State and was a correspondent for Al-Midan newspaper, and her brother Yousef Adam, were killed in a village in South Al-Jazira locality by the Rapid Support Forces.
On December 9, 2024, journalist Bakhita Adam Masoud, who worked for Sudan National Radio, died after being injured by shrapnel in Khartoum North (Bahri).

Death Due to Deteriorating Health and Environmental Conditions

The deterioration of environmental and health conditions has caused severe health problems for many Sudanese inside the country. The report highlights the case of journalist Huda Hamed Ibrahim, whose death exemplifies the suffering of women journalists amid war and fragile economic, health, and social conditions. She died in Khartoum in June 2024 after being bitten by a snake and being unable to access appropriate medical treatment.

Malicious Legal Complaints

Rasha Awad, Editor-in-Chief of Al-Taghyeer online newspaper, received death threats, and criminal complaints were filed against her by the army under articles carrying penalties that could include the death sentence.

Arrests and Death Threats

Journalist Sabah Mohamed Al-Hassan was detained by the Rapid Support Forces in Al-Hashahisa in March 2024, and later raided and arrested by army forces in River Nile State in August 2024. She also received death threats from individuals on social media who accused her of supporting the Rapid Support Forces and declared her blood permissible.

Arrest and Travel Bans

Journalist Imtithal Suleiman was detained for three days by security forces in Kassala State and was subsequently banned from traveling abroad. Women journalists participating in focus group discussions reported experiencing sexual harassment and verbal abuse at checkpoints, during movement between locations, and during detention and interrogation.

Digital Violence

A number of women journalists have been systematically subjected to aggressive digital attacks, including bullying, defamation, privacy violations, and verbal abuse. Fake social media accounts bearing journalists’ names were created to spread false and harmful information. Journalists Maha Al-Talib and Fadwa Al-Khazraji were among those targeted: Maha was subjected to a smear campaign, while Fadwa received threats via phone calls and was also targeted by other forms of intimidation and online harassment. Social media accounts also circulated photos of Al-Khazraji.
In February 2025, unidentified actors issued a post inciting violence against Maha Al-Talib, calling for her killing based on accusations that she was reporting on gangs and rebel militias.

License Suspension

On November 20, 2025, the Ministry of Culture, Information, and Tourism issued a decision suspending journalist Lina Yacoub, head of the Sudan bureau for Al Arabiya and Al Hadath channels. More recently, Prime Minister Kamel Idris, appointed by the army, issued a decision allowing her to resume work.

Resilience and Defiance

Women journalists described an extremely difficult professional and psychological reality, facing compounded challenges amid conflict coverage and the collapse of basic safety nets. Analysis indicates that 52 percent of women journalists have become refugees outside Sudan, while 48 percent remain internally displaced or living in conflict-affected areas inside the country.

Where Women Journalists Are Located After the War

Despite the harsh conditions, data show remarkable resilience: 72 percent of women journalists continue to practice journalism, either part-time (40 percent) or full-time (32 percent). Most have more than seven years of professional experience (56 percent).

The Triple Crisis: Support, Income, and Safety

The most pressing challenges facing women journalists can be summarized as a harsh triad encompassing psychological, financial, and security dimensions.

Psychological collapse and lack of support: This emerged as the primary concern, with 68 percent of respondents (17 cases) citing lack of psychological support as their most pressing challenge. Seventy-two percent described their psychological state since the war as either stressed (40 percent) or extremely exhausted (32 percent). Sixty percent reported receiving no psychological, professional, financial, or legal support. For those who did receive assistance, support focused almost exclusively on psychological care and often came from personal networks or colleagues rather than institutional mechanisms.

Loss of income and caregiving burdens: Financial insecurity remains a direct threat to sustaining journalistic work, alongside electricity and internet disruptions.

Legal Protection

The report recommended providing sustainable psychological and social support programs for women journalists affected by the war, supporting safe employment and income opportunities inside and outside Sudan, expanding safety and conflict-reporting training programs, strengthening legal protections, combating digital violence, and supporting independent feminist media initiatives.

A Safe Environment

Journalist and member of the Sudan Women Journalists Network Lamia Al-Jaili told Madamik that creating a safe working environment for women journalists is essential. She stressed the importance of policies and regulations within media institutions that protect women journalists from all forms of violence and prevent discrimination.

She emphasized the need to facilitate reporting mechanisms for any form of violence within media institutions and called on the Sudanese Journalists Syndicate to establish complaint committees with fair representation of women, operating with full transparency.

She cited international experiences where laws protecting women from workplace violence have contributed to safer work environments, stressing that awareness-raising, accountability for perpetrators, and justice for women survivors of violence must be top priorities for media institutions and journalistic bodies.

Regarding gender-based discrimination within media institutions, Lamia underscored the need to combat discrimination against women journalists, adopt policies that ensure equal training and promotion opportunities, and promote women’s presence in media decision-making positions as a crucial step toward removing structural barriers hindering their professional and rights-based development in both public and private spheres.

• The Sudan Media Forum and its member institutions publish this report, prepared by the Sudan Women Journalists Network and Madamik Newspaper, to reflect the dire reality facing women journalists in Sudan amid the war, while also highlighting their remarkable resilience in confronting compounded hardship.

The report documents the multiple violations endured by Femal journalsts network Sudan, who have been targeted both for their journalistic work and their gender, including killing, displacement, arrest, sexual violence, judicial harassment, property confiscation, and travel bans, as well as widespread digital violence, online harassment, defamation, verbal abuse, and intimidation.