Members of the Bana Group and ABI employees
| © ABIOn May 19, ABI had the pleasure of hosting Mai Shatta and Ilaaf Alaaeldin, two female advocates for human rights and peace from the Bana Group for Peace and Development, for an exchange on our respective work, as well as the ongoing war in Sudan. Founded in 2017, Bana’s mission is to strengthen women and create a safe space for them to rebuild their communities. With the increasingly violent conflict and human rights violations in Sudan, their work and advocacy for the marginalised voices are more critical than ever.
The situation in Sudan continues to deteriorate, with escalating levels of violence, abuse, rape, and utter destruction. The conflict has grown into a political, ecological, and human catastrophe. Villages have been burned to the ground, exports have halted, massive irrigation schemes have stopped, infrastructure has been levelled, and over 12.4 million people have been forcibly displaced, with thousands more killed. The Bana advocates made a strong argument for the prioritization of stabilizing Sudan, and taking firm political action towards achieving peace for the war-stricken country.
Bana provides expertise and a rare perspective on this war and its horrendous impacts. They understand the conflict and its wide-spread consequences, and are unique as one of very few feminist groups working on the ground. They also produced Forgotten Voices, a documentary providing intense testimonies from the war and spotlighting displaced people. The film was previously screened at the Kommunales Kino in Freiburg on Sunday, May 18, in partnership with Amica.
Following our insightful discussion, the two Bana advocates were interviewed as part of the virtual encyclopedia of the Postcolonial Hierarchies in Peace and Conflict project.