This article was published for the first time on the symposium on Women orgnised by Darb al intifada
Women and politics in the Sudan
additional feedback & Comments
by Adil Abdel Aati
Dear DA Symposium Coordinator,
I was very impressed by the contribution of my friend Dr. Nazik Hammad, as well as other important contraptions. The articles of Dr. Nahid Tobia, Magdoleen Abdelhaliem and Asma Abdelhaliem and others has showed clearly that the Sudanese women are more advanced and prepared (professionally and politically) than the so-called leaders in the NDA, who are trying, just like NIF but in another way, to limit and stop the process of the Sudanese Women Liberation.
In my contribution, as Nazik Hammad wisely noticed, I did not discuss the agenda of women emancipation, I think many others articulated these aspects better and their ideas could be a good start to rebuild our conscious about the aims , the strategy and instruments of Sudanese women liberation, in a wider aspect of reconstructing and changing the whole structure of the socio- economical and cultural life of the Sudanese society.
In addition, I would like to disagree with Ms. Magdoleen in her defense of the NDA, because if some parties have some support, this does not mean that we should ally with them, since they represent and defend all policies which brought the Crisis. The new "realism" of the Sudanese Left (SCP) is nothing more but the surrendering to the old forces with all their bad records in the Sudanese political and social life.
I believe strongly that the New Sudan will not arise without a hard struggle against the fascist regime of the NIF and against the so-called two big parties which led our country to the total degradation and failures. Any way Ms. Magdoleen herself, wrote that The NDA show "has taken us to no where so far". So should we continue walking in this road which leads us to no where ?
I strongly agree with her call for building a pressure board of all new political forces, the civil society organizations, and the women and youth movements. This platform can put pressure on the NDA for now, and in the future could be the alternative for the NDA, when every body will understand that some NDA parties are unreformable and are causing more harm for the struggle for democracy and progress than helping this struggle.
From the other side the so-called the progressive movement in Sudan (SCP especially), is not progressive at all for me. This movement has joined the worst of the Stalinist ideology and the patriarchal tradition of the Sudanese society. For that, their program for women emancipation has always been very conservative, traditional and ineffective, and it is a big sorrow that a lot of women and men wasted the most valuable years of their lives struggling for such a program.
This movement should reform itself to follow the big changes which brought SAF and SPLM with their radical programs and spreading support, taking the place of the traditional left.(By the way, SAF is not a mechanical continuation of the Mustagilien and Al-Mutmar Al-Watani movements (the Independents Students Congress and the National Congress Party) as Dr. Nazik thinks, but it is a new quality in the Sudanese political scene and it is the same like HAAG (New Democratic Forces Movement) is not a continuing of SCP, and SPLA is not continuing of the SPAF (Sudan People Armed Forces-Niemirei Army) although the majority of their cadres came from these institutions.
Women participation in public life, not only in politics, is part of a general social activity, and political parties should solve the problem of women participation in their structures first. The birth of many women organization connected with many parties is a good sign in my view, of course if they struggle for women rights in the party in the first place and afterwards in other institution. Because of that, I agree with Dr .Suad Ali that Sudanese Women Union is not representing all Sudanese women and I think this Union should change radically if it would like to continue the struggle for the cause of Sudanese Women.
I join my voice to Dr .Nahid and I hope that Darb Alintifada will collect all the materials of this symposium and publish them in a sperate web page, as well as publishing some information about the writers or at least their e-mail addresses. From my side I am planning to publish my views and the comments on them on my home page located at: https://members.tripod.com/~abdelaati, at the same time I invite all those who are interested in building a new alternative for the NDA to put their opinions in my Discussion board "New Sudan Discussion Platform" located in my web site.
I'd also like to invite those who are interested in building a pressure board or group of all margnalised, progressive and new forces to contact me to build an electronic platform for this group (independent web site or mailing list) to discuss the theoretical, organizational and political agenda of such group.My main e.mail address is: abdelati@polbox.com
With my respect to all
Adil Abdel Aati