Sudan: women's football after years of fighting

Audio 02:25

During a match of the Sudanese women's football championship in 2019 © Ashraf Shazly / AFP

By: Eliott Brachet

6 min

For the second year in a row, the women's football championship is currently being held in Sudan.

It is seen as a symbol of the emancipation of women, but there are still many challenges for those who break the taboos of a conservative society.

Such a competition would have been unimaginable during the 30 years of reign of Omar al-Bashir, deposed in April 2019.

Publicity

From our correspondent in Khartoum,

In a stadium in the city center, the referee kicks off an unthinkable match in three decades of Islamic dictatorship.

For those Sharia-educated players like Danet Habeel, participating in official competition and in public was only a distant dream. 

“

When I started, my parents rejected my vocation.

But I proved that I had to play soccer, that I liked it so much.

At first it was complicated, especially in the neighborhood in which I lived.

People were convinced that this is not a sport for girls, that it is only for boys,

 ”says Danet Habeel.

Hiding for years to play football

Sudan was one of the pioneers of football in Africa, co-founder in Khartoum of the African Football Confederation (CAF).

But after the passage of Islamic law in 1983, women's football remained non-existent.

In November 2019, the new authorities repealed a law on public order targeting Sudanese women found guilty of "

indecent and immoral acts

", then in the process, the first women's football league was created.

► To read also: Ten women who play African football

In the stands is Naheed Bashir, one of the only female sports journalists in Sudan.

“

Unfortunately, for years women have had to go into hiding to play soccer.

Mentalities in Sudan are narrow and the society is so conservative that it is opposed to the idea that a woman can be a full sportswoman.

This competition helps to break down the barriers of fear, customs and our traditions.

The Sudanese revolution played a central role

 , ”explains Naheed Bashir.

A presence that is still disturbing, but mentalities that are evolving

A sign that the presence of women in sport is still disturbing, this journalist was assaulted last month by a police officer while she was accredited to cover a men's premier league game.

On social networks, a flood of criticism continues to target women's football.

But mentalities are gradually changing, welcomes Mervat Hussein, director of the Sudanese Women's Football Committee.

“

The public is there, men, women, all watching the game.

There is television, radio.

It is no longer a problem.

This is the vision of the new Sudan, of women starting to do the same thing as men.

We now have a national selection that will be able to participate in competitions from February 2021, the World Cup and the African Cup of Nations.

It will be a great first for a Sudanese team in all of history.

"

Forming a national team was everyone's dream here and it is on the way to come true.

In the opinion of all the players, the criticism against them only reinforces their motivation and makes them even more determined to participate goal after goal in the advent of a new Sudan.

► See also: The 2022 Women's African Cup of Nations in Morocco

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• Sudan

• Women's football

• Womens rights