Five Women of Sennar

Sudan, the largest country in Africa, has become an increasingly familiar place in the last few years as television screens illustrate the political, economic, and ecological disasters that have overtaken many of its people. The far west and the eastern provinces have been badly hit by the long drought, while the central area has recently suffered from flooding. Meanwhile, political strife has been steadily tearing the south apart and developments such as rapid urban growth,...
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Sudan, the largest country in Africa, has become an increasingly familiar place in the last few years as television screens illustrate the political, economic, and ecological disasters that have overtaken many of its people. The far west and the eastern provinces have been badly hit by the long drought, while the central area has recently suffered from flooding. Meanwhile, political strife has been steadily tearing the south apart and developments such as rapid urban growth, large-scale population movements, and monetary inflation have led to social unrest. For Sudanese women especially times are changing - and not only to their disadvantage. Everywhere they are becoming more independent and confident and assuming new responsibilities as their menfolk leave to seek work abroad. Susan Kenyon looks at the developments in Sudanese society through the eyes and words of five women from the town of Sennar in Blue Nile Province. They talk about their families and homes, their hopes and aspirations, their work, and their social lives. Their accounts offer insight into contemporary life in a major developing country and the changing role of women within its society.