The rise of Islam and women of the national Islamic front in Sudan

Abstract

In 1988, when most of the research for this article was conducted, Sudanese were still permitted by the state to debate strategies for democratic change. An air of intellectual and political excitement generated by the 1985 intifada (the overthrow by civilians of the oppressive Nimieri military dictatorship) still prevailed and debate over the advantages and disadvantages of an Islamic state and accompanying sharia was intense. Dozens of newspapers were active, as were both radio and television; unions, professional associations, political parties and interest groups assembled frequently. Two women were elected to the People's Assembly, and the long‐dormant Sudanese Women's Union was once again active. These were heady times, not dissimilar to the immediate post‐independence atmosphere or of the 1964 democratic era following the overthrow of the Abboud military regime. But the atmosphere changed abruptly with the demise of democratic processes in 1989 and the establishment of a right‐wing Islamic military government. Though the brief democratic era from 1985 to 1989 may have ended, the nature of debate within it remains of considerable significance, not just for Sudan, but for other settings where Islam is or may become a factor in the political process, figuring in discussions about both democracy and gender relations. The concern here is to focus on one group active in Sudan during the democratic era — the National Islamic Front (NIF) — in order to explore the gender dynamics that both brought it to power and are sustaining it. It is argued that the NIF was an integral part of the political forces set in motion during that period, the consummation of which is an Islamist regime that trained women for the ‘revolution’ and is now betraying them.