Fatma Ahmed Ibrahim
Early life
Fatima was born in Khartoum, her family one of educated family at that time,her grandfather was a headmaster to the first Sudanese School for boys and as the same time Imam in his neighborhood's mosque. Fatima's father graduated from Gordon Memorial College and works as a teacher, and Fatima's mother among the earlier generation of girls whom tended the school. Fatima grew up during the time of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan colonial in Sudan, when her father expelled from teaching in a government school when he refused to teaching lessons by English, then her father moved to teach in a popular school.
Career
Fatima joined Omdurman Girls' Secondary School, and her activities towards women rights started from that time, she published a wall newspaper called Elra'edda, or by Arabic الرائدة or by English Vanguard or The Pioneer girls, her newspaper focuses on the women rights and also she wrote in newspapers at that time by code name. Fatima conducted the first women strike in Sudan and the reason of strike her school administration decided to omit the science lessons and replaced it by Family science lesson and the strike was successful. Her activities went beyond the school; in 1947 she founded Intellectual Women Association, in 1952 she worked with other women and founded Aletahad Elnees'y Alsodanni or Arabicالاتحاد النسائي or Sudanese Women's Union, which she belonged to the executive committee; then a sphere of action of Women's Union opened membership to all women in Sudan and WU opened branches in different provinces in Sudan. The agenda of Women's Union at that time, according to an amendment to its constitution in 1954, focused on the right to vote, women suffrage, and the right of women to act as representatives in all legislative, political, and administrative corporations. At WUshe also worked to establish equality with men in wages and technical training, and helped to remove illiteracy among women. Because of WU's objectives, there occurred clashes with the political right such as Jabihat El-methaiq elaslami or Islamic Pledge Front. In 1955 Fatima became a chief editor of Sawat al-Maraa Magazine or Woman's Voice Magazine (it is published by Women's Union), and this magazine later plays an essential role in the overthrow of the Ibrahim Abboud regime. In 1954 Fatima's joined the Sudanese Communist Party(SCP), and in a short period Fatima became a member of the Central Committee of the SCP (SCP was the first Sudanese Party which women had a formation inside the party since 1946). In 1956-1957, Fatima became the president of Women's Union, and one of her objectives was for the independence of the union from their affiliation and domination of SCP, and she widened the participation of women with difference backgrounds. In 1965 Fatima was elected to enter the parliament, to became the first deputy Sudanese women. The constitutional crisis caused by the illegal exclusion of the democratically elected SCP members from the Sudanese parliament, which was spearheaded by Sadiq al Mahdi caused much acrimony between the SCP and the Umma Party. In 1969, when Jaafar Muhammad al-Nemieri took a power by military coup with supported by SCP, activities of Women's Union were spread out and women gained many rights in difference fields, but the honeymoon between Sudanese Communist party and Jaafar al-Nemieri was ended after a huge dispute which led in July 1971 to a military coup supported by SCP led by Hashim Elatta, but the coup failed after a few days in a power and Nimiri returned to power again which led to execution to the leaders of coup and SCP and among them Alshafi Ahmed Elshikh a workers union leader and the husband of Fatima, after that Fatima was placed in house arrest for several years, and also arrested many times during the Nemieri regime. In 1990 Fatima left Sudan after the Omar Hassan al-Bashir military coup, and joined the opposition in exile as the President of the banned Sudanese Women's Union. In 1991 Fatima was elected President of the Women International Democratic Federation. She returned to Sudan in 2005 after reconciliation between the government and Opposition, and currently has been appointed as a deputy in the parliament representing the SCP. Her brother is also a writer and involved in politics Salah Ahmed Ibrahim, she has one son from her husband Elshafi named Mohammed Ahmed.
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