Sudan

Under article 32 of Sudan’s Interim Constitution, which was approved in 2005, women and men have equal entitlement to all civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights. The Constitution also iterates that ‘the State shall emancipate women from injustice, promote gender equality and encourage the role of women in family and public life’, at article 15.  However, in October 2011, Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir announced that following the secession of South Sudan, a new constitution would be introduced based on Sharia law. Sudan is not a party to the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women.  The country has signed but not ratified the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People's Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa.
The situation and role of women in Sudan has also been heavily influenced by the history of conflict and political changes. Women in Sudan have been subject to extremely high levels of violence from state and non-state actors.Women also continue to shoulder the burden of the displacement and poverty associated with conflict, and in rural areas, less than a third of women have had access to any form of education.