On Human Rights Day, Sudan's ongoing conflict since April 2023 highlights how crises disproportionately impact women's fundamental rights, particularly their economic rights and personal safety. While international human rights laws guarantee basic dignities, the realities of displacement, gender-based violence, and disrupted livelihoods demand innovative approaches centered on women's protection and economic empowerment as pathways to recovery. 

The crisis has severely impacted women's security and economic opportunities. A recent study from UNDP and the International Food Policy Research Institute, the Socioeconomic Impact of Armed Conflict on Sudanese Urban Households, reveals that women, comprising 69% of internally displaced persons (IDPs), face compounded challenges of displacement, rising food prices, and disrupted income sources. The risk of gender-based violence has increased dramatically during the conflict, with displacement and economic vulnerability making women particularly susceptible. Gender-based discrimination, limited legal protection, and restrictive cultural norms further restrict their economic participation and increase their exposure to violence. The breakdown of social and economic networks severely hinders women's access to resources and livelihood opportunities, leading to increased food insecurity, financial instability, and heightened protection risks. 

The study highlights that women demonstrate strong initiative in seeking collective solutions, with 43% of women in urban households and over 50% among IDPs participating in women's associations. This significant participation rate indicates women's determination to maintain economic activity despite challenging circumstances. 

Building on this existing foundation of women's collective action, UNDP supports women's associations in Kassala, Gedaref, White and Blue Nile. They demonstrate how targeted support can transform opportunities for women by providing access to financial tools and market resources, delivering entrepreneurial training and skills development, facilitating collective resource management and business ventures, creating income generation opportunities, while establishing safe spaces and peer support networks that integrate GBV prevention and response services. 

UNDP's comprehensive approach recognizes that economic empowerment and protection from violence are interconnected. The organization works to improve GBV support services while fostering economic independence. This includes training officials, healthcare workers, and community members on GBV prevention and response, establishing safe spaces within healthcare facilities for survivors, providing psychosocial support integrated with economic empowerment programs, engaging men and boys to challenge harmful gender norms that perpetuate both economic discrimination and violence, and supporting women-led businesses that create safe employment opportunities. 

Beyond economic benefits, these UNDP-supported women's organizations contribute to broader human rights objectives. By uniting members from diverse backgrounds, they promote social inclusion and peace-building through economic cooperation. Their success in establishing small businesses and creating stable incomes demonstrates how economic empowerment can advance women's rights, dignity, and protection during crisis. 

Looking forward, women's economic empowerment and protection from violence remain central to sustainable recovery and human rights protection in Sudan. UNDP continues to expand support for women-led economic initiatives while strengthening GBV prevention and response services. These efforts demonstrate that empowering women economically while ensuring their protection not only upholds their fundamental rights but also strengthens community resilience and fosters sustainable peace. 

Through community-designed economic projects and inclusive development approaches, UNDP creates environments where women can safely exercise their economic rights and contribute to rebuilding their communities. This rights-based approach ensures that recovery efforts address both immediate protection needs and long-term structural barriers to women's participation and safety. 

The experience in Sudan shows that protecting women's rights through integrated empowerment and protection initiatives is essential for both human rights advancement and sustainable development. As we observe Human Rights Day, the resilience and achievements of Sudanese women remind us that economic empowerment combined with protection from violence is fundamental to upholding human rights and dignity in the face of crisis.