Sudan

In 2024, UN Women made significant strides in enhancing women's access to agricultural lands, contributing to Goal 5.a, which addresses equal rights to economic resources, property ownership, and financial services. This achievement aligns with the broader objective of achieving key outcomes under Goal 5. However, the political climate leading to the suspension of partnerships with government institutions at both federal and state levels since 2021, along with the conflict outbreak in 2023, has limited the ability to influence strategies and policies for SDGs on a macro level. Consequently, UN Women has shifted focus to micro-level interventions, implementing small-scale projects aimed at boosting productivity and enhancing women's economic rights to land. Notably, in Kassala and Port Sudan, 180 women received 57 acres of agricultural land for five years, exclusively rented through UN Women funding, with local authorities’ support to validate the land. The lands are equipped with an irrigation system, enabled by major water sources also exclusively supported by UN Women. This initiative has enabled women farmers to control resources and engage in the planting of high-demand crops. 47 acres were planted with traditional and cash crops including sesame, groundnut, peanuts, okra, and are expected to be harvested in March and April 2025 with high productivity and yields anticipated.Of the 180 women targeted with land, 160 were already laborers working on other people’s/farmers lands. With UN Women’s support, they have become farmers and are now laboring for their own profit. This achievement represents a milestone for these women transitioning from being agricultural laborers to becoming farmers on their rented land in a rain-fed system.
Efforts to enhance the capacities of localities and the chamber of commerce regarding women's economic rights, along with community forums involving stakeholders and women’s agricultural associations, have fostered a commitment to prioritize women's rights to land. These initiatives have also facilitated women’s access to land owned by male community members through local authorities. This priority is crucial in the early phases of the country's recovery from conflict, particularly where land issues are dictated by customary and federal laws that require reform. Nevertheless, the ongoing humanitarian crisis has compelled the government to focus on urgent humanitarian interventions over development initiatives, including the attainment of the SDGs.

UNW strategically strengthened the interconnection between WPS, Humanitarian efforts, and WPPL. This multifaceted approach played a pivotal role in empowering Sudanese women and facilitating a comprehensive response to the challenges presented by the ongoing war and the resulting population displacements. Such an approach led to a notable outcome-level achievement, primarily demonstrated by a transformative shift in behaviour and practices related to the peace-humanitarian-development continuum. The most significant outcome was the observed shift from capacity building measures to active involvement in the collective organization of gender-based CSOs and their advocacy for peace and ending the war in Sudan while also lobbying for gender-sensitive humanitarian and development demands.
After the capacity building orientation of the interventions of the first quarter - for more than 300 women led organizations and leaders on SSR, leadership and collective movement building - the focus moved towards facilitating collective action through greater organisation and coordination of the women-led CSOs. Despite the risks women faced from threats, harassment, and violence, they continued to champion and advocate for peace at local, regional, and international levels. Sudanese women and organizations - mostly beneficiaries of past UNW capacity building interventions - established the "Peace for Sudan" platform, comprising nearly 50 WLOs from across Sudan. Through this platform, a collective advocacy for peace unfolded, empowering women's groups both within Sudan and women diaspora to engage in various activities, share information, and foster networking. Additionally, the platform spearheaded regional and global advocacy efforts. UN Women played a critical role in supporting the establishment of the forum and appointed a gender advisor to technically support it.
This platform requested UNW to facilitate a high-level advocacy dialogue to end the war in Sudan, involving key political actors, IGAD, the Arab League and the AU. The outcome was the creation of a high-level WPS taskforce in coordination with IGAD and AU, supporting a women-led advocacy campaign calling for an immediate end to the war, increased and gender-sensitive humanitarian aid, social services, protection from violence, meaningful participation of women in peace processes, and the enforcement of African HR-based instruments to safeguard women from various forms of violence, including CRSV.
In Darfur, WLOs established the “Women Inclusive Stand platform” (WISP) comprising 260 local women. The WISP has elevated the leadership of women fostering advocacy for peace and promoting the women's peace-humanitarian-development agenda in Darfur. This initiative has broken down structural barriers by providing spaces for women to influence local peace processes and contribute meaningfully to peacebuilding and humanitarian efforts.