Here's Why Women In Sudan Are Asking For Justice On Social Media

Sudan Woman Samah el-Hadi: The Sudanese government is under fire on social media over the killing of a 13-year-old girl named Samah el-Hadi.

According to a report by the Guardian, the teenage girl was allegedly shot dead by her father who now walks free without any charges against him. The report also added that the girl's body didn't even go through post mortem. The deceased girl was shot three times and was run over by a car according to another report. The neighbours of Samah el-Hadi shared blamed her father in their public statements on social media. The father was reportedly released by the authorities after brief questioning. The father claimed in front of the authorities that the Samah took her own life.

The girl allegedly died last Friday in Omdurman after a dispute with her father over a school she wanted to attend. Her story had encouraged many Sudanese women to share their own experiences of violence on social media.

Samah's story finds resemblance in the recent death of a 19-year-old woman in Omdurman who was stabbed by her husband and later buried by her family before the police reached. This story was shared by poet and novelist Kaltaoum Fadlallah who is also one of the 2,000 people who signed a petition seeking for Samah's case to be reopend by the authorities.
Fadlallah said, "This crime is the clearest and the most ugliest crime against women and children. In order to protect Samah’s rights we want them to reopen the case and re-examine her body and arrest everyone involved. What has happened will put all families under the danger of violence."

As of now, there are no laws on domestic violence in Sudan. According to data released by the Arab Barometer, 22% of households in Sudan have seen domestic violence and 57% of cases reported include female survivors.

Human rights lawyer in Khartoum, Ahmed Sibair, said that the crimes against women and girls have increased since the onset of the pandemic. While speaking about the way such cases are handled in Sudan, he said, "If a father was convicted of killing his children they would be punished with a few years in prison, between three to five years, and get released".

After the outcry on social media, the Khartoum police reportedly decided to reopen Samah el-Hadi's case on Tuesday.

And on it goes - Samah el-Hadi.
Women are indispensable.
Change the discourse. https://t.co/PRnlD78fVt

— Dr Ashley Morgan (@DrAshleyMorgan1) March 26, 2021

Samah el-Hadi was shot three times and run over by a car, but the man who killed her, (her father), said she committed suicide.#femicide #DV https://t.co/ClKugh0pyt

— Karen Lovely (@karenlovely) March 26, 2021