Sudan Gov't Official Links Alleged Rise in 'Honor Killings' to 'Lack of Governance'

In many patriarchal societies, female activities are closely monitored and premarital relationships are considered dishonorable. There are cases in which families kill their female relatives suspected of being “sexually immoral” in order to “wash” the “dishonor” from the family.

Sudan's governmental gender violence chief Sulaima Ishaq Al Khalifa has alleged that the reported rise in so-called 'honor killings’ of young women is linked to a "lack of state power".

Head of the Government of Sudan's Gender Based Violence Unit Sulaima Ishaq Al Khalifa pointed out that what is happening in the country in terms of the alleged rise of the so-called 'honor killings' of young women is linked to a "lack of state power".

"The lack of governance is always appearing on this kind of things. There is no intiatives, nobody's holding themself accountable, responsible for anything. And everybody's saying that 'It's not my responsibility’,” Al Khalifa told the BBC.

She noted that Sudan has suffered a power vacuum since the resignation of the country's former prime minister, Abdalla Hamdok.

Hamdok resigned in early January after mass protests that erupted in Khartoum due to him signing a political agreement with the country's military in November. The military seized power through a coup in October.

"The challenge is that because the law is not endorsed if the process had happened before the coup, and then the law [would be] within the minister of justice administration, whether they have a comment on it and then return it back to the council of ministers," she explained. "But then the coup happened, and now we have been without the government since the resignation of the prime minister. So, we actually don't have a government."

Earlier, activists from Sudan called for action to curb the alleged rise in so-called “honor killings” in the country, according to the Guardian, citing campaigners.

The topic got into the spotlight after eleven women and girls were reportedly killed by their relatives this year, twice the number of officially registered cases during all 2021.

Campaigners are concerned that the number of unreported cases might be even higher.

“I believe there are so many other similar crimes in the villages and towns that are far from the media. We only get to hear about those which are taken to the police,” Nahla Yousif, head of the Future Development Organization, told the Guardian. “It’s all about ignorance and lack of awareness, they think it’s shameful to see their daughters having relationships. These crimes have always been here, but they are now increasing due to the lack of accountability.”

Some of the reasons for the killings include girls appearing to have premarital relations with men, according to The Guardian. In some instances, reports suggest that girls were killed for being pregnant before marriage or merely talking to men on their cell phones.

Research by the Arab Barometer in 2019 indicated that over 25% of Sudanese people older than 35 found “honor killings” acceptable.