For more than 500 days, women and girls in El Fasher, North Darfur, have borne the brunt of a relentless siege. Cut off from humanitarian aid and protection, they face a daily risk of starvation as a weapon of war, and indiscriminate bombardment leading to deaths and sexual violence. For the past three weeks, the United Nations has recorded at least 125 civilian deaths in the area, including summary executions, with the actual death toll likely higher.
Since April 2023, more than 600,000 people have been displaced from El Fasher and its surrounding camps. Inside the city, women and girls are enduring famine-level conditions, as classified by the IPC. With food stocks depleted and efforts by the United Nations and its partners to move in with supplies hampered by attacks, families are now surviving on animal feed and tree leaves. There have been repeated attacks on humanitarian personnel and assets in North Darfur over recent months.
More than forty-one health and educational facilities in the state have been destroyed, and supplies of medicine have been depleted. Pregnant women are giving birth into the hands of unskilled attendants with no access to emergency obstetric care. Women in need of reproductive health services and survivors of rape have no access to any medical services.
Speaking to UN Women Sudan, Zahara, a mother still trapped in the city, said, "I am speaking about the bitter and painful suffering of women and girls trapped in the city of El Fasher. We are facing death by missiles, starvation, daily violations, and rape."
Since the conflict began, 1.79 million internally displaced people (IDPs), representing 8 per cent of the total IDPs in Sudan, have been living in North Darfur state, more than half of them women and girls (54 per cent). There have been repeated deadly incursions into the Abu Shouk displacement camp, where famine conditions were identified in December 2024.
The violations against women and girls in El Fasher are mounting and must be recognized as grave breaches of international law. Conflict-related sexual violence, including rape and gang rape, has been systematically deployed as a weapon of war. At the same time, starvation is being used as a method of warfare, deliberately inflicted on civilians in direct violation of international humanitarian law.
Women-led organizations and women volunteers are the backbone of community survival. Despite scarce resources, they are on the frontlines, addressing the needs of women and girls. They urgently need direct, sustained support to continue their work.
UN Women condemns all violations against women and girls and joins the Secretary-General in calling for an immediate ceasefire in and around the El Fasher area. UN Women calls for immediate steps to be taken to protect civilians and enable the safe, unhindered and sustained delivery of humanitarian assistance into the area, and to allow any civilians seeking to leave the area voluntarily to do so safely. This is in compliance with the Security Council Resolution 2736 (2024), which demands an end to the siege of El Fasher and South Kordofan, protection of civilians, especially women and girls, and civilian premises.
The suffering of Zahara is the suffering of every woman and girl in El Fasher today. Their courage must be met with decisive global action. The world cannot remain silent. Member States and the international community must act with urgency and courage. For the women and girls in El Fasher, every day is a matter of survival. The time to act is now.
