Press Release – Sudan: End the violent attack against Darfuri Female Students

 

 

At 2:30AM, December 13, 2012, 6 men wearing women Jilbab and face veiled, entered the girls dorm in Khartoum University, and attacked the Darfuri female students in the dorm. “They were shouting ( ALLAH Akbar= God is the Greatest), and they were carrying big knives, they just started beating us, Iman a first year lost her finger, when one of the attackers injured her hand with his big knife, and during the fight they manger to unveil them” said (A-S) one of the dorm girls, she continued describing that horrific night saying “ Asmaa , a first year student also in Khartoum University, severely injured in her hand, also while she was fighting with the attackers armed by knives. We couldn’t sleep that night and we kept awake until our colleagues came back from hospital”.

The Darfuri female student struggle started on November 26^th, when they protested the denial of free registration and the tuition waiver in the university and the dorms by the Khartoum University administration. And when the administration refused all their appeals and denied the fresh students from entering the dorms ad the university for free the Female students decided to take to the street. The free registration and the tuition waiver for Darfuri students is one of the rare accomplishments of the peace agreement between Darfur rebels groups and the Sudanese government. Darfur region is witnessing conflict since 2002 ,  where at least 200 thousands peoples died and 2 million are living in IDPs camps, which led to the indication of the Sudanese Omar Albashir of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide by the international Criminal court.

Testimony *A Sudanese Female Student protest Leader : The Security forces Unzipped their paints on street to intimidate us

 

It was 6:00PM June 16^th, when I and other 6 girls sat down in our very crowded room  in Alzahraa dorms in the Khartoum University compound decided that we have to act and speak out against the unbearable food prices in the dorm and the universities . The dorm we are living in is the  largest girl dorm in Khartoum , it has 18 buildings, contains hundreds of female students from all Universities and from different regions inside Sudan and even abroad . That Saturday we had surprised by the doubled prices for every thing in the dorm from bread to tea and sugar , the 250 pounds bread it raised to be 500 pounds for one bread , that was too much for all the students coming from far states and villages trying to make it by the very little their families are able to send to them every month .

I  and the other 6 girls -whom I can’t mention their names for their safety ,  but I can say that they are from Khartoum ,Sudan, and Alneilain Universities , and they are from various regions in Sudan even from South Sudan- , decided that we should go out and protest against the high prices .  we got out our rooms and then out the dorms chanting ” no for high prices” , and we went out to the street exactly at 7:30PM. When we reached out side the dorm more girls joined the 7 of us , and since the boys dorms just across the street , they joined us too , and we continued chanting and marching for about 10 to 15 minutes , and the boys started chanting ” the people want to overthrow the regime ” , when we found our selves surrounded by the police , as they started chasing us and beating us , we ran back to the dorm , where some girls pushed the door  until it was broken , so we can get inside to protect our selves . But the dorms walls didn’t stop the police , they continued firing the tear gas inside the dorms , and the security men wearing the pail closes came inside the dorm holing metal bars , and beaten the girls inside their rooms and the said to us :” your are just girls far away from you homes living dorms why you are protesting and making problems , you better watch out and stop what we are doing