The soul of Khartoum

The Governor of Khartoum, Abdel-Rahman Al-Khider has been determined to “civilize” Khartoum in the past few months. The idea seemed well-intentioned in the beginning .

Split of a soul: when politics shoots at culture

The 2011 referendum granting South Sudan independence served as a decisive verdict on the history of decades-long civil war as well as the foundational tenets of the modern international community. Adil Babikir evokes lost narratives of national unity that once resounded in both Sudan and South Sudan through a single name: Mongo Zambeiri.

Leave Nile Street alone

Every day, thousands of people, especially youngsters, leave their house to sit on Nile Street, by the beautiful Nile river and drink tea, coffee and enjoy ready snacks at the open-air cafes catered for and run by tea ladies.

Jalila Khamis: a beacon of inspiration

Seeing the woman who inspired me and thousands of people, be they human rights activists or law abiding citizens, was a majestic moment for me.

Political Islam in Sudan: pragmatism or principle?

The Sudanese Islamic Movement (SIM) has lost much legitimacy with the Sudanese people and its own party officials. How has this come to be and can an Islamic spiritual movement be both political and partisan?

No anniversaries in Sudan

Every year, when a Seed-Ahmed memorial event happened in Khartoum or other cities, it would be prohibited or raided by the police.

Remembering Mohamed Abdel-Salam in Medani, Sudan

"We enter the university with pens and notepads, but from now on we will enter with machetes to protect ourselves."


Sudan: why the deafening silence?

The National Congress Party (NCP) came to power in 1989, and since then it has brainwashed and desensitized the masses to the point of no return.

The Circumcision

A story by Fatin Abbas. Part of a series of of poems and short stories by African feminist writers for 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence.

My friends sometimes rebel

In Sudan, you don't have to be in the war zones to meet a rebel.


South Kordofan: activism, resilience and sacrifice

Sudanese women's rights organisations that fled South Kordofan last year are rebuilding their networks, and women like Jalila Khamis Kuku are detained for speaking out about the atrocities committed against the Nuba people. They need our attention and support, says Amel Gorani

A non-violent 24-year old gets Sudanese intelligence mobilising

They pressured his father into revealing his whereabouts, warning that otherwise they would also arrest his younger brother M.

Sudan: a state In debt, a people in debt

Everything has an interest rate and if you don't pay on time, as the Sudanese state and most of the population have discovered, the price goes up.

Jalila Khamis: the high price of courage

"My children's life turned to hell for the past 9 months, they refused to celebrate the Eid, it is the second one without me" - Jalila Khamis, held in detention in Umdorman, Sudan

Sudan: who is responsible?

A week after Israel allegedly bombed an arms factory in Sudan, one thing is clear; there is more public anger towards the government than Israel.

This week's editor

Heather McRobie


Heather McRobie is a regular contributor to 50.50

Syndicate content