UN Women highlights Sudanese women running communal kitchens and aid groups through sieges

24 October 2026

UN News reported on 24 October 2026 on Sudanese women who became frontline responders during the country's war. The war between the Rapid Support Forces and the military government's Sudanese Armed Forces erupted on the morning of 15 April 2023 and has triggered one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. Khartoum was disputed between the two main combatants and was retaken by government troops in March 2025. The city of El Fasher in North Darfur was besieged by the Rapid Support Forces in October 2025. The gender equality agency UN Women has spotlighted women who ran communal kitchens, documented conditions and led aid organisations through the sieges. The report records that thousands of women are now returning to Khartoum after years of displacement across Sudan and in neighbouring countries, and that many have returned to looted houses stripped even of doors and windows. A woman heading a UN-supported, women-led organisation in North Darfur said that when it comes to funding, projects sometimes go to organisations led by men.