Alaa Salah

Alaa Salah (born 9 March 1997) gained media attention due to a photo of her standing on top of a car during the 2018-2019 revolution in Sudan, which was later coined the "women's revolution."[1] She is also a member of a Sudanese women's network called MANSAM, which signed the Freedom and Change Declaration calling for the removal of Omar al-Bashir in January 2019.[2]

Early life and Education

Sunset in Khartoum 2008 [3]

Alaa Salah was raised in Khartoum, Sudan's capital, in a middle-class family that was not politically active. Salah is the fourth of eight children, and her mother is a fashion designer who specializes in the traditional Sudanese toub, the garment Salah would later wear in her famous photograph.[1] Her father runs a construction business and Salah attended Sudan International University, studying agriculture and engineering.[2][4]

Background

In December 2018, a number of protests against the 30-year rule of Omar al-Bashir began. He had originally come to power in 1989 through a military coup. The protests called for new leadership and reforms to the economy.[5] Under the regime, unions were banned, and many civic groups were forced to operate underground. Throughout the regime, several attempts to remove him occurred; the largest prior to 2018 was the 2013 uprising.[6] However, during that time access to the internet was restricted and it was alleged that several hundred protesters were killed.[7][8] The most recent notable uprising was the 2018 protests, which was ignited due to high cost of living, with the inflation rate nearing 70%.[6] The protests escalated in February 2019 and a year long state of emergency was declared. Clashes with security forces and the use of tear gas against demonstrators occurred.[5]

Omar al-Bashir in 2017.[9]

Role of Women

During al-Bashir's rule, Sudanese laws such as the 1991 Criminal Act were active, which allowed police to arrest people for being "immorally dressed," which was criticized by organizations such as Amnesty International for disproportionately targeting and discriminating against women.[10] Punishments such as stoning to death were also used for crimes such as adultery.[11] In 2016, some groups estimated 15,000 Sudanese women were sentenced to flogging.[12] In the 2018 uprising, 60-70% of the protesters were women. This led to over a hundred women activists being detained in December and led many to refer to the movement as a "women's revolution." [13][14]

The photograph

On April 8, 2019, a photograph of Alaa Salah was taken by Lana H. Haroun.[15] The image, which depicted Salah standing on a car in a white toub and moon shaped golden earrings surrounded by a crowd, gained international media attention and led to her being called the "Statue of Liberty" or "woman in white." Haroun has stated her goal was to bring attention to the Sudanese people's demands, not just the photo itself.[16] Salah stood on top of a car quoting Sudanese poet Azhari Mohamed Ali's opinions on the Public Order Act, which gained traction. The white toub is a garment associated with the independent women in Sudanese society, such as teachers and nurses. Some even see the toub as being connected to Sudanese women activists in the 1940s and 1950s, such as Fatima Ahmed Ibrahim, the first female member in Sudan's parliament.[16] Earlier in March 2019, the color white was adopted for female protesters in Ahfad University for Women.[17] The image, combined with traditional earrings, also prompted people to use the term Kandake in reference to the Nubian Queen.[18] The photo is captioned and cited as Kandake of the Sudanese Revolution.[19]

In the hours before the photo was captured, Salah described that she was with a group of women singing, and then people began to surround them. After that day, she had a sore throat from shouting and reading poems.[4] On Twitter, she received nasty comments and death threats after the photo went viral. Nevertheless, she continued to demonstrate, saying "I will not bow down. My voice cannot be suppressed."[20]

Activism

Salah has described that her political awareness grew during her daily walks to university, where she witnessed neighbors struggling to get access to basic necessities like food and medicine. For her, the fight to end the 30-year rule of Omar al-Bashir was also linked to the fight for people to get their fundamental needs met.[21] Salah gained her public speaking skills by giving presentations at university.[4] Even beyond the revolution, Salah's photo has been used by supporters online to support other causes. People online have used Salah's image with a blue background, during the #BlueforSudan protest and for following uprisings.[22] After the viral photo, Salah stopped attending university to focus on activism and has continued advocating for more women in parliament. She has done this through the MANSAM group, which has been fighting for 50% women's representation in the peace process. In the fall of 2019 Salah gave a statement at the U.N. to advocate for that.[21][23] She co-authored a book The song of the Revolt -The Sudanese Uprising Told by Its Icon, with Martin Roux that was published in 2021.[24] In 2023, she won the Hillary Rodham Clinton Award from Clinton and Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security.[25] Zitto Kabwe, a Tanzanian politician has co-named one of his daughters Alaa-Angelika after her in recognition of Salah's activism and inspiration to girls.

Sudanese woman protesting Omar al-Bashir.[26]

Aftermath

Al-Bashir was arrested and Awad Ibn Ouf, the defense minister declared a three-month state of emergency. A military coup removed him on April 11, 2019 which activists opposed due to their demand that the new government could not include anyone from the previous regime. Salah felt like the government "tricked" the people.[27] The transitional government in November 2019 changed the Criminal Law and removed state public order laws. However, for the negotiation in fall 2019 only two women were represented, and there were a limited number of women in the Central Council. Women's groups were formed after the revolution, such as the Noon movement and Civil and Political Sudanese Coalition (MANSAM). These groups are fighting for gender equality and continuing the "women's revolution."[28][29]

References

  1. ^ a b Fletcher, Martin (2019-07-12). "Alaa Salah: Sudan's 'woman in white' on why she's prepared to die". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 2025-11-19.
  2. ^ a b "Statement by Ms. Alaa Salah at the UN Security Council Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security". Working Group On Women, Peace And Security.
  3. ^ Rabea, Ahmed (2008-03-14), English: Sunset in Khartoum, Sudan, retrieved 2025-12-03
  4. ^ a b c Mohammed Salih, Zeinab (11 April 2019). "'I was raised to love our home': Sudan's singing protester speaks out". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2019-05-09.
  5. ^ a b "Sudanese police fire on protesters demanding president step down". The Guardian. 2019-01-17. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
  6. ^ a b Knight, Tessa; Alsedeg, Lujain (2023). Revolution, Transition, and Coup (Report). Atlantic Council. pp. 3–6.
  7. ^ "Sudan: Dozens Killed During Protests | Human Rights Watch". 2013-09-27. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
  8. ^ "Sudan: End Network Shutdown Immediately | Human Rights Watch". 2019-06-12. Retrieved 2025-11-12.
  9. ^ "File:Omar al-Bashir (2017-11-23).jpg - Wikipedia". commons.wikimedia.org. 2017-11-23. Retrieved 2025-12-03.
  10. ^ Knight, Tessa; Alsedeg, Lujain (2023). Role of Women (Report). Atlantic Council. pp. 7–9.
  11. ^ "Sudan: Ban Death by Stoning | Human Rights Watch". 2012-05-31. Retrieved 2025-12-02.
  12. ^ Burke, Jason (2019-04-09). "'Inspiring' protester becomes symbol of resistance for Sudanese women". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-12-02.
  13. ^ Hajdug, Roksana (2023), Hafsaas, Henriette (ed.), "The Art of Revolution: The Online and O ine Perception of Communication during the Uprisings in Sudan in 2018 and 2019", Dotawo: A Journal of Nubian Studies 8, War in the Sudan, Punctum Books, pp. 162–208, ISBN 978-1-68571-168-9, retrieved 2025-11-12
  14. ^ "Sudan's al-Bashir orders release of detained female protesters". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2025-12-02.
  15. ^ "Here's the story behind the iconic image of the Sudanese woman in white". The World from PRX. 2019-04-10. Retrieved 2025-12-03.
  16. ^ a b "Scared, worried and hopeful: A Sudanese photographer's view of the uprising". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 2025-11-12.
  17. ^ "'It's Going to Be the Image of the Revolution' (Published 2019)". 2019-04-10. Retrieved 2025-11-12.
  18. ^ "Sudan revolution: How women's participation reveals societal fissures". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 2025-12-02.
  19. ^ Willie-Okafor, Paula (2023-12-13). "How Leila Aboulela Reclaimed the Heroines of Sudan". Open Country Mag. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
  20. ^ "Alaa Salah, the 'Nubian queen' who stood against Bashir". The Citizen. 2021-04-09. Retrieved 2025-12-03.
  21. ^ a b "Sudan's iconic "Lady Liberty" protester, Alaa Salah, speaks out for women's rights - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. 2019-10-29. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
  22. ^ AS4A (2019-04-28). "Sudanese Photographer Lana Haroun's Amazing Image Inspires Artistic Depiction of Protestor Alaa Salah as Kandaka, "Nubian Queen" - africaspeaks4africa". Retrieved 2025-12-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  23. ^ "Alaa Salah, Women of Sudanese Civic & Political Groups, Sudan - Stone Soup Leadership Institute". stonesoupleadership.org. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
  24. ^ Salah, Alaa; Roux, Martin (2021). Le chant de la révolte: le soulèvement soudanais raconté par son icône (in French). Favre. ISBN 978-2-8289-1910-8.
  25. ^ "2023 Hillary Rodham Clinton Awards". Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security. Retrieved 2025-12-02.
  26. ^ "File:Sudanese women in protests.jpg - Wikipedia". commons.wikimedia.org. 2019-04-08. Retrieved 2025-12-04.
  27. ^ "Omar al-Bashir: Sudan military coup topples ruler after protests". www.bbc.com. 2019-04-11. Retrieved 2025-12-02.
  28. ^ "Sudanese women's revolution for freedom, dignity and justice continues". CMI - Chr. Michelsen Institute. Retrieved 2025-12-02.
  29. ^ Tønnessen, Samia al-Nagar and Liv (2019-07-02). ""I'm against all of the laws of this regime": What Sudan's women want". African Arguments. Retrieved 2025-12-03.
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