The societal role of men and women in Sudan is such that men are considered and deemed more superior to women as, “Sudan is a patriarchal society, in which women are generally accorded a lesser status than men” (Sudan). Women are typically dressed in head to toe clothing called Toob (Sudanese Clothes - SUDANESE CULTURE). Women are to dress modestly. Thus the Toob (there are many different spellings for it) allows the women to show some sort of individuality as the Toob comes in many different colors. These are worn during everyday life as well as important events. Girls start to wear this around puberty.
Women tend to do more domestic jobs and raise the children (Sudan) and men tend to work more outside the home doing laborious jobs such as farming and agriculture. Men also do the industrial work in the country, as well as the participating in policies. Children also tend to follow in their parents footsteps when it comes to the type of employment they will do (Sudan). Men and women do not get married in Sudan because they have fallen in love with each other after dating for a period of time. They get married as per an arrangement amongst the bride and grooms parents. Typically they have never even met and could be of relation, such as cousin. A man must be economically self-sufficient and able to provide for a family before he can marry. He has to be able to furnish an acceptable bride-price of jewelry, clothes, furniture, and among some tribes, cattle (Sudan). Another disturbing fact about the societal role of men and women in Sudan is the continued practice of female circumcision. Female circumcision is the cutting away of some or all of the exterior female genitalia. According to Epublications, “This is a tradition in the community. Many parents believe they are protecting their daughter’s future marriage prospects, and not hurting her. It is seen by parents as part of a girl’s upbringing.” Some of us might feel that the lower social status of the Sudanese women and the practice of female circumcision is outrageous. However we also have to remember that it is a different social status and culture upbringing then we have here in the United States. There are organizations working towards getting female circumcision banned, however with everything that is banned in the world there will still be families that practice it, due to their believes. References: EPublications. (n.d.). Retrieved July 21, 2015, from http://www.womenshealth.gov/publications/our-publications/fact-sheet/female-genital-cutting.html#d Sudan. (n.d.). Retrieved July 21, 2015, from http://www.everyculture.com/Sa-Th/Sudan.html Sudanese Clothes - SUDANESE CULTURE. (n.d.). Retrieved July 21, 2015, from https://sites.google.com/site/sudanesecultureblog/sudanese-clothes
2 Comments
It was really interesting to read about how women are treated in Sudan. I've read about female genital mutilation before, and I'm still shocked to learn how many countries practice this. I'm currently researching about the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is a country in Central Africa. There are a lot of things in common between the two countries, especially in regards to women's roles. Although women in the DRC are not as restricted as Sudanese women, they too have a lower status in society. They only recently were able to gain some basic rights, such as owning land and business. However, even then, they often have to have the husband's permission first. It was really interesting to see the social situation in another country. Good job!
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Sarah Hasbrouck
7/30/2015 03:47:06 pm
I also selected Sudan as my country for this project. I was surprised by the facts surrounding female circumcision in your research. This was not a fact that I came across, although I am glad I didn’t. The country has a whole seems to be stuck in the values and beliefs of the nineteenth century with their arranged marriages, stereotypical gender roles, and family life. I wonder why with all of these traditional beliefs they allow equal education opportunity between the genders. I guess we will find out this week.
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