"Today Sudanese women have become breadwinners."
Duany, War & Women in the Sudan: Role Change & Adjustment to New Responsibilities.
The daily duties of Sudanese women include "farming, dairy production, domestic duties, and income-earning activities."
- The women are responsible for producing food for their families and food preservation.
- Household skills are developed through apprenticeships with their mothers and older relatives.
- Responsible for milking cows, making butter and caring for and preparing small animals including chickens, dry meat, fish and vegetables.
- Their hours are long, oftentimes 15 to 18 hours per day, but earn less than men and oftentimes do not have enough resources to provide for their families.
- In some African countries, women only make one-tenth the amount of men while working twice as long, reports the UN.
- A Sudanese man may take his wife's money earned, but it is not unusual for a Sudanese woman to complain to her husband about not having enough money in order to up the amount of financial support given to her.
- Bridlewealth (oftentimes cows) is the woman's main contribution to a marriage. If divorced, the woman is not entitled to the bridlewealth and may have to rely on extended family to support her. Oftentimes, women cannot divorce if they have children.
- "Women are known to grow 80 percent of food produced in Africa, and yet few are allowed to own the land they work."
With the onset of war, women's farm labor has changed dramatically.
- "Women's farm labor is increasing because they cannot steal as easily as men and receive fewer food supplies from the relief agencies"
- Men have left their homes to join the rebel army. They have left the land to the women.
- Gender roles are unstable because the division of labor has been unevenly weighing down on the women.
- Women are relying on relief food because of the displaced communities, but NGOs oftentimes only distribute relief food to male-headed households.
"Overall status of women in Africa." United Nations University. http://www.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu37we/uu37we0t.htm
Duany, Julia A. and Wal Duany. "War and Women in the Sudan: Role Change and Adjustment to New Responsibilities." Project Muse Indiana University. (63-82). http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/northeast_african_studies/v008/8.2duany.pdf
