Gender, Race, and Sudan's Exile Politics

Gender, Race, and Sudan's Exile Politics examines the gendered and racialized discourses and practices of the Sudanese opposition in exile through the opposition movements of the 1990s and early 2000s. The military coup that brought the National Islamic Front (NIF)-now National Congress Party (NCP)- to power in 1989 not only forced most political parties, trade unions, and activists in Sudan into either exile politics or underground activism; it also urged Sudan's political forces and activists to rethink the meaning of belonging and of the 'Old' Sudan. In the mid-1990s, this involved a rethinking of the relationship between religion and politics, acknowledging Sudan's diversity, restructuring Sudan's economy and politics to include more equal participation of the historically marginalized, and committing to self-determination for the people of South Sudan. This led to the concept of 'the New Sudan', as coined by the late Dr. John Garang, in 1983. The book explores possibilities for integrating gender into New Sudan and opposition thinking and politics by discussing how narratives of gender and race continue to shape the major political questions. These also continue to shape women's rights activism in Sudan and South Sudan. This book will appeal to policy-makers and activists interested in Sudan and South Sudan, and in gender and women's rights in both countries and beyond.