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Mapping with Sudanese Women in Cairo

Mapping with Sudanese Women in Cairo

In February 2024, CEDEJ Khartoum—recently relocated to Cairo following the outbreak of war in Sudan—together with researchers from the University of Padua (Mariasole Pepa) and CEDEJ fellow researchers (Samrin Adam and Duaa Abuswar), initiated a collaborative project aimed at making visible the lived experiences of forcibly displaced Sudanese women in Egypt.

 

Setting the Context

Since the onset of war in Sudan on April 15, 2023, over 700,000 Sudanese have crossed into Egypt, with the majority now residing in Cairo. Despite the violent nature of the conflict and its significant migratory and geopolitical impacts, international and academic attention on the war remains limited, as does the understanding of the lives of hundred of thousands of Sudanese refugees in Cairo. To address this gap, our project seeks to foreground the voices of these communities—focusing particularly on Sudanese women residing in the Faysal. Faysal, a neighborhood characterized by a diverse migrant population including Yemeni, Syrian, and Sudanese communities, serves as a case study for exploring how displaced populations continuously reshape urban space.

 

Methodological Approach

Situated at the intersection of critical geography and migration studies, the project employs collective mapping and counter-cartography as participatory methodologies. These approaches enable to visibilize the experiences, voices, and emotions of Sudanese women and their migratory trajectories. Collective mapping is a practice and an act that aims to represent the experiences, voices, knowledge, emotions, and perspectives of people that are usually excluded from hegemonic representation.

The project was developed through a series of collective mapping laboratories and collaborative creative sessions with 14 Sudanese women (Aatiqa Ishaq, Afnan Moawia, Afraa Abdelhamid, Asawer Mohamed, Asia Hamdi, Asmaa Mohamed, Bara’a Ahmed, Habab El Tijani, Marwa Ahmed, Metche Jaa’far, Nada Amin, Nafisa Bakri, Randa Yassin, Tibyan Fathuraman). Between February and October 2024, three laboratories and other follow-up meetings were conducted. In the initial sessions, participants worked on the Sudan-Egypt map to trace their migratory journeys and document the emotional experiences associated with displacement. Subsequent sessions focused on reimagining a map of Faysal, thereby producing a counter-cartographic representation of the neighborhood as experienced by Sudanese women. Complementary activities included a zine-making workshop—eventually culminating in a short guide to Faysal—sound recording sessions capturing the daily rhythms of life, and collaborations with Sudanese visual artist Randa Yassin, graphic designer Rayan Alhaj, visual anthropologist Farah Hallaba, and photographer Ahmed Nogud. This creative methodology was complemented by interviews with women to explore in greater depth the question of diverse migratory experiences, the gendered dimension of the exile experience, the relations between the old (arriving before the war) and new Sudanese diasporas to illuminate variations or point of convergence trough different temporalities.

This interdisciplinary and participatory approach also provides a reflection on the ethics of conducting research during an ongoing conflict, exploring different strategies employed to avoid extractive research practices. Importantly, it addresses the urgent need for immediate dissemination of research findings, circumventing the protracted academic publication process.

 

Outcomes

The project culminated in the exhibition Akhir Faysal – Faysal Last Stop and a roundtable discussion titled A Transdisciplinary Dialogue on the Experiences (and Imaginaries) of Sudanese Women. The exhibition opened on November 1 at the French Institute in Egypt, with a series of related events scheduled throughout the month like concerts and a movie screening.

 

Opening exhibition, 1st of November 2024

 

Opening exhibition night, concert by Hiba Elgizouli at the French Institue in Egypt

 

The roundtable, facilitated by Marie Bassi (CEDEJ-Khartoum) and Mariasole Pepa (University of Padua), featured contributions from Amira Ahmed (Sociologist, American University in Cairo), Ayham Dalal (Architect and Urban Planner, German University in Cairo), and Samia Nihar (Independent Researcher). Discussions addressed themes such as shifting memories and cultural heritage within the diaspora, the role of collective critical cartography in challenging dominant narratives, and innovative practices for disseminating research and lived experiences.

 

Roundtable, 3rd of November 2024, French Institute in Egypt

 

 

Keywords Migration; Women; Cartography; Displacement; Sudan.

Scientific Committee

Marie Bassi (Coordinator, CEDEJ-Khartoum); Mariasole Pepa (Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Padua); Samrin Adam (Lecturer, University of Khartoum); Duaa Abuswar (Fellow Researcher, CEDEJ-Khartoum).

Contact
direction@cedejkhartoum.com
mariasole.pepa@unipd.it

Partner Institutions

CEDEJ Khartoum; MEAE/CNRS USR 3123; Department of Historical and Geographic Sciences and the Ancient World, University of Padua.

Funding Institutions

CEDEJ Khartoum; MEAE/CNRS USR 3123; Department of Historical and Geographic Sciences and the Ancient World, University of Padua.


OpenEdition vous propose de citer ce billet de la manière suivante :
cedejsudan (12 février 2025). Mapping with Sudanese Women in Cairo. Researching Sudan - A perspective on contemporary Sudans. Consulté le 24 mars 2025 à l’adresse https://doi.org/10.58079/13b32


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