This report is part of a serious of reports focusing on documentation of the situation of women and human rights in Sudan during the transition and after the military coup. The focus of this report is to highlight the situation of women working in media institutions in Sudan and investigate the status of women freedom of expression in Sudan. The report is covering the period from 2020 until 2021. Some of the report interviews were done in earlier periods.

Women journalists defending women and human rights have been subjected to detentions, prosecutions and have been suspended from working or writing in newspapers for years. Sudan’s media was subjected to uncountable restrictions and violations in the 30-year-old regime of ousted President Omar al-Bashir. Security agencies imposed cribbing restrictions on media, closing outlets, arresting, and threatening journalists along with other violent practices against media and journalists. Journalists’ sufferings continued during the transitional period from the control of those who still loyal to the ousted regime and the deterioration of economic conditions and others.
Dozens of women journalists were detained, prosecuted, threatened, and forced to flee Sudan during the former regime also amid the days of the revolution. Some of those left the country returned during the transition, but the military coup is leading a new wave of attacks against freedom of expression in the country. This report will highlight the conditions of women working in media and the portrayal of women in Sudanese media.