Women wage peace in Sudan - 10 Nov 2004
"[In traditional Darfurian culture], if you are a visitor coming to the village, of course, only the men [will] receive or talk to [you] - they would not allow the woman even to go out or talk to [you], what is missing there in the camp [are] representatives of women's societies. Why? Because only through women's societies we can talk to these women in depth to know their situation, their needs, and then we can raise their voice and talk on [their] behalf.
Now I have some [rape victims who] are pregnant; some of them already delivered the babies. I can tell you the case of 'Khadija' [not her real name]. She is from a non-Arab tribe; she has been raped by the Janjaweed. After she delivered the baby, now she is just getting crazy - mad. Always she is saying, "This is a Janjaweed baby. He is not my baby." She refused to feed the baby, although she had the milk. In the end, relatives took Khadija out from the camp and she was staying with relatives in the town. At the [camp] center, we have a therepeutic [food] supplement and they are taking care of this child."
Maha Sheriff of Darfur Women Solidarity speaking with Sojourners on the need for international groups to come to the aid of women in the region that has seen over 1 million people driven from their homes and thousands left dead.