Chair, Excellencies, colleagues,
My name is Faizat Badmus-Busari, Regional Programme Manager at the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa – SIHA Network. SIHA is a regional feminist network working with over 250 women’s rights organizations across the Horn of Africa.
I would like to share one concrete example of what has measurably improved women’s access to justice in our context: the establishment of independent networks of women lawyers connected directly to women facing criminalization and gender-based violence.
In Sudan, for example, amid the ongoing conflict, many women have been arbitrarily detained and charged under Articles 50 and 51 of the Sudanese Criminal Code, accused of “collaborating” with armed actors and criminalized under morality laws. These charges carry the death penalty.
Women detained in these circumstances often have little or no access to independent legal representation. Many are assigned state counsel or remain without meaningful defense.
Through feminist networks, including lawyers, mediators, and paralegals supported by SIHA, we have been able to connect women detainees with independent legal representation.
The impact has been immediate and measurable. Seven women have been acquitted due to insufficient evidence, and thirteen women have had death sentences overturned on appeal. Beyond legal representation, our advocacy also prompted an official government directive following a visit to the prison, which led to the release of 402 women who had been arbitrarily detained on these charges.
