In promising news, the Sudanese justice minister has repealed female genital mutilation. He has also repealed a law that only allowed women to leave home if they were accompanied by a male family member. The country's strict ban on alcohol for non-muslims, who make up around 3% of Sudan's population, has also been lifted.
The move comes after the removal of President Omar al Bashir in a coup d'etat in 2019, bringing an end to his 30 years of rule, and the strict Islamic code that he imposed on all citizens. Female genital mutilation (FGM) itself has no basis in Islamic texts.
Those found to be engaging in FGM will now face 3 years in prison, however, some fear that the practice is so entrenched in Sudanese culture that it will not be eradicated quickly. It is believed that 87% of all women in Sudan aged between 15 and 49 have been subject to the procedure.
It is also of great worry that Sudan, one of the world's poorest nations, will find it difficult to impose the laws given the lack of centralised power, which will make enforcement difficult.
Sudan is also facing an economic crisis after the breakaway of South Sudan and its formation as the world's newest independent country. South Sudan had contained Sudan's main oil reserves, which has severely hurt the Khartoum government's financial capacity.
Prime Minister Abdulla Hamdock, stated that these social changes are:
"An important step in reforming the justice system."
FGM, which is often carried out without anaesthetic, results not only in damage to the genitals but also risks deadly infection and causes long-lasting disability. The practice which was formerly more widespread across Africa has in recent years been clamped down upon by other nations seeking modernisation.
The fact that women are now allowed to leave home on their own and minorities, such as Christians, have been allowed greater freedoms, is hope that the society will continue to liberalise further in the future. It has been shown that countries that allow women greater freedom and enable women to work outside the home have vastly greater rates of poverty-reduction.
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