The DW talk show “Shabab talk” on women’s rights in Sudan creates excitement and threats of murder. The Sudanese opposition politician, Yasser Arman, describes in a DW Interview, the oppression by the Regime.
“What Sudanese women want?” This question was discussed in the Arabic-speaking DW talk show “Shabab talk”. The broadcast triggered a heated debate in the Sudan, because a young Sudanese woman confronted a high-ranking preacher directly. The 28-year-old Weam Shawky condemned the harassment of women: “If I go out on the street and a man treated me like an object and not as a human being, then the Person is reprehensible, which gives him the right to harass me and not the clothes I wear.” Extremists have threatened then the presenter and the partner station. In the Islamic-fundamentalist-ruled Sudan at war for 15 years.
DW: you will be traveling with some members of the Opposition this week to Geneva to the United Nations. What are your Delegation?
Yassir Arman: We will participate in a sample session of the human rights Council to discuss resolutions for the Sudan. Many civil society organizations were refused participation. The present draft resolutions to the Sudan are, in our view, very weak. We want the Council to the people, the UN member States and civil organizations, the voice of the civil population represented. You should know precisely what is happening in the Sudan.
The current designs can be attributed to the Propaganda of the Sudanese government. They do not reflect the reality in Sudan. Would you allow the government continues to violate with impunity human rights. In the Council, there are voices who claim, in the Sudan, everything would be fine. However, this can not be, if the International criminal court, President Omar al-Bashir of war accused of crimes.
Opposition politicians Yassir Arman: “Sudan needs a paradigm shift”
How is the people and especially to women’s rights in Sudan?
Generally speaking, the Situation has worsened in the country. Women are marginalized in the Sudanese society and are victims of abuse and rape. Your life will be destroyed, especially in the war zones, such as in Darfur. In urban areas, thousands of women have been brought for criminal offences against the public order court.
The Islamists are only interested in what women wear, whether trousers or a headscarf. They are not interested in whether education is denied, or if your everyday needs are not meet. The Islamists would cry if they see a naked woman, but not, if you see a dead woman, who died from Hunger. Thousands of women have been displaced from the war zones. And the Islamists have a serious discussion about what kind of clothing should women wear, rather than Worry about how you find a job or a life of dignity in the Sudan.
“The youth want freedom and work”
A preacher has accused the DW show “Shabab talk”, to spread atheist ideas. How is the religious tolerance in Sudan?
If there was tolerance, not would have made a TV show for so much turmoil. The Sudanese government still wants to close the Studios of the TV channel Sudania 24, which has aired the talk show.
It is a real shock for the Islamists in the Regime, to see a young woman as Weam Shawky. It belongs to the young people born in Sudan and raised their voice against the Regime in charge. They reject the project of political Islam in the Sudan. The youth want freedom and work. They demand that women participate entitled. Women are the first target of political Islam. This show also showed the face of the members of the religious Elite in the Sudan.
Weam Shawky criticised during the broadcast, the harassment of women in Sudan
How would you describe the relationship between the media and the government in Sudan?
There are no free Newspapers or free TV channels in Sudan. The Newspapers “Al-Tajjar” or “Al-Dscharida” be detained by the government to distribute their expenditure, and the high cost of printing. The government is putting publishers under pressure. The Sudanese security apparatus is in control of everything. Its members are the editorial offices to visit in the evening to see what you want to publish the next day. The same is true for TV stations. The media in Sudan are in a state of siege. Sudanese journalists have told their story abroad – how hard it is to make, under such circumstances, journalistic work.
The United States have repealed last year’s sanctions, but Sudan’s economy is struggling. The government is responsible for this?
There is a high degree of corruption. The lack of transparency and lack of democracy have opened the door to corruption. The political class controlled the country and has stopped the production in agriculture and mining. This government destroyed the economy, which leads you to wars on agriculturally fertile soils, such as in Darfur. The political Islamists and the elites from plunder the Sudan.
“Our dream is a peaceful Sudan”
The Sudan needs a paradigm shift. This crisis can only be ended when a new political and economic System will be introduced. Only this will bring a democratic change, and the Sudanese, an economy, which is what most people benefit.
Economy on the ground to – day life in Khartoum
What are the goals of the opposition movement in Sudan?
Our dream is a peaceful Sudan. We want to end the dictatorship and a democratic transition. We want the people rule here and we are calling for equitable relations between the centre and the periphery. We want to have the same civil rights for all in Sudan, regardless of Religion, social Status or what gender they are.
We also want to normalize the relations between Sudan and the world. Currently, we have six million Sudanese who were displaced, and living a dignified life in your country need. Or they will try to flee to the EU or the USA. We want a System that allows people a dignified life, with education and a health system. The current government is less than two percent for the health care system and 70 percent of their budget for the war. If we end these wars, we finally have resources for health and education.
Yassir Arman is one of the leading opposition politicians in Sudan. He belongs to the Sudan people’s liberation movement (SPLM-N).
The interview was conducted by Wesley Dockery.
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