Sudan is a country in North-East Africa. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea, Eritrea, and Ethiopia, to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the south-west, Chad to the west and Libya to the north-west.
It is the third largest country in Africa (after Algeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo) and also the third largest country in the Arab world (after Algeria and Saudi Arabia). The River Nile divides the country into eastern and western halves.
Fatima Sallih was born to a father who is a strong activist and a loving mother who has been a strict authority figure in her life. She acknowledges her success in community based initiatives to them.
When I met the soft spoken lady, I was quite surprised by her subtle way of passing strong political and civil views.
I loved her strong yet subtle poise. I admire women who do not have to be in conversations like what garlic is to vampires-the kiss of death. (I don’t really believe in vampires but flow with me here and blame it on the movies I watch-used to watch) It’s possible to be feminine-as God intended us women to be, and still pass and get our views respected.
Fatima admits that while growing up, she witnessed the deteriorated state her relatives from Eritrea suffered in Sudan as refugees. She therefore decided that she had two options, to melt emotionally like wax subjected to intense heat or become like clay under the same heat. She chose the former- to work, live and be a part of transformation for a better country.
Things were not easy during her teenage years because she witnessed change in Sudan from an open developing country to a closed dictatorship where only one opinion was prevalent. Her values in equality which her parents and schools had instilled in her seemed to be the opposite of what prevailed in her country- lack of freedom and equality for the people.
After university, Fatima pursued a profession as an independent capacity builder and as a volunteer in civil society where she became part of community and youth based initiatives. She is also part of a group of active youth and activists who respond to disaster situations through volunteering their professional and personal skills.
Through her engagement with civil society she was able to identify along with a group of activists the need to raise the capacity of individuals with interest in volunteering in civil society and to introduce them to new methods and tools and thus contributing to the growth, sustainability and development of the civil society.
Fatima has grown immensely by being surrounded by different factions of society and has become even more sensitive to her environment. Her belief in change being possible is becoming a reality.
She now represents the minority and oppressed groups by securing and advocating for their rights. I tell you this power girl is the kind who will march in the streets, alone if need be to fight for her people. I am impressed.
