Hundreds of women and girls across Sudan have been imprisoned or sentenced to death over accusations of collaborating with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), according to rights advocates, raising concerns over the treatment of civilians who remained in areas previously controlled by the group.
Many of the women stayed in Khartoum, Sennar and Gezira states because they lacked the means to leave as fighting spread, with soaring transport costs, high rents in safer areas and widespread poverty making displacement impossible for many families.
Human rights monitors say the cases point to a wider pattern in areas controlled by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), where civilians have faced prosecution over activities carried out while living under RSF control.
Rights advocates argue that some of those detained were effectively being punished for routine interactions or activities necessary for survival rather than for proven involvement with the RSF.
Among those imprisoned is trainee lawyer Khadamallah Mousa Abdelghani, who has spent more than 18 months in Omdurman Women’s Prison.
Abdelghani was arrested by military intelligence in February 2025 in Khartoum North’s Al-Mazad district.
A court sentenced her to death in August 2025 after convicting her under treason and collaboration provisions. An appeals court later reduced the sentence to 20 years in prison, a ruling subsequently upheld by the Supreme Court.
Her case has become one of several cited by rights advocates who say women and girls caught in areas that changed hands during Sudan’s war are increasingly facing severe legal consequences over alleged links to the RSF.
