Today is World Refugee Day, an international day to honor people who have been forced to flee their homes and live as refugees. It is a day to honor their strength and courage, to acknowledge their plight, to push us all to work to resolve wars and conflicts, and a mandate to do all that we can to prevent the conflicts that force people to become refugees in the future.
Escalating global conflicts, the impacts of climate change, and widespread human rights violations continue to deepen the refugee crisis worldwide. By the end of 2024, an estimated 42.7 million people were living as refugees, with an additional 73.5 million displaced within their own countries. In Sudan alone, the civil war that began in April 2023 and the mass atrocities that have resulted from it have driven nearly 13 million people from their homes, making it the world’s largest displacement crisis today.
Women and girls face additional challenges as refugees. Women living in refugee camps face heightened risks of gender-based violence, exploitation, and trafficking, often without access to basic services, healthcare, or reproductive care. Despite these circumstances, women who are displaced due to conflict continue to lead peacebuilding efforts and contribute to their communities in so many ways, including by running businesses, teaching, leading humanitarian efforts, and serving in support groups.
To honor this day, we turned to our networks of Sudanese women leaders, many of whom have been forced by past and current conflicts to flee Sudan, and asked them to share their messages with the world.
Here is what Sudanese women leaders who are displaced by the current crisis want you to know.
I Am More Than a Refugee –Nagwa Konda
I am delighted to be given the opportunity to share a message on World Refugee Day—not only with my fellow refugees but with the entire world.
I am proud to say that I am not only a refugee but also a resilient woman, a dreamer, and a contributor to the world around me.
To my fellow refugees, I say: while we carry the pain of all we have lost, we also see a glimmer of hope. Our stories matter, our strength is real, and our future is still ours to shape.
Although we left our countries not by choice, but because of war, persecution, and other disasters, let us keep loving, learning, and working against all odds. Let us continue building a world where people are not forced to flee, but can live with dignity, hope, and peace.
To all those of goodwill, and to the entire world, I say: as we celebrate World Refugee Day, let us think about the mother who crossed a border with her children and nothing else, yet still managed to create a life full of warmth.
Let us support the young man who studied by candlelight in a camp and now dreams of becoming a doctor.
Let us embrace the countless people who are rebuilding their lives in new lands, learning new languages, and still finding the strength to give back to the communities that welcomed them.
A Call for Peace –Safaa El-Agib Adam
From the refugee camps along the Chad-Sudan border, I send my heartfelt greetings to all the brave women and girls who, 25 years after the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, continue to bear the devastating impact of conflict in Sudan. They face unimaginable hardship, sexual and gender-based violence, trauma, family separation, killings, abductions, the loss of loved ones, and widespread human rights abuses.
Even after seeking refuge across borders, they are not safe. In host countries, they face severe shortages of basic services such as healthcare, education, and income-generating opportunities. Their freedom of movement is often restricted. They are treated as second-class citizens, denied national identity documents, subjected to hate speech, and cut off from logistics and internet access.
Yet despite all this, and with limited resources, these women demonstrate extraordinary resilience. They contribute meaningfully to their host communities by running small businesses, making bricks, teaching, and building circles of learning and support.
I call on all armed actors to stop the war. I urge the international community to increase its support, particularly for women and young people, and to include them meaningfully in peace processes. This call is not only for Sudan. It echoes for the women of Gaza, Ukraine, Afghanistan, the DRC, and all places where war steals futures and silences voices.
Pathways of Hope –Samia El Hashmi
The steadfastness of Sudanese women in the heart of the current crisis is a torch that illuminates pathways of hope. Every wound she bore became a catalyst for building anew. She outdid herself, blooming wherever God planted her. When war erupted, women made all the right decisions concerning their families. Every step a woman takes in exile stands as a testament to the strength of her will. Refugee women are not mere numbers; they are inspiring leaders and peacebuilders.
Peaceful Fighting is Not Easy –Wala Mohammed
I no longer feel that Sudan is my country; they took it away the moment they killed protesters after the military coup in 2021, and now they are killing everyone amid this war. I am peacefully fighting alongside other displaced women to take it back, and peaceful fighting is not easy.
