The Last Few Days

Dear Friends,
Greetings! The elections in Sudan are in progress. These are the first multi-party elections in 24 years. Thus they are the first elections ever for a generation of Sudanese. From my apartment I have the TV and internet to keep me informed, I have heard nothing extraordinary from beyond the gates of the compound where I live.

Originally the elections were to take 3 days for 16 million registered voters. In part due to the fact that many people have never experienced voting there have been challenges, including late arrivals of ballots. The voting has now been extended to 5 days.

This past week a friend drove me to a Western style shop called Home Care. In my excitement over going to a Western store I lost my keys at some point after locking my gate. They have not been found so I had to purchase a padlock to use on the gate. Inside of the compound there are bolts which slide across the gate so there are no security issues while inside. It is when I leave that the apartment becomes vulnerable, if someone found the keys they could easily get inside. I may need to ultimately replace the lock that is embedded in the gate. The interesting thing to me is that the new padlock is made in the USA, all of the older ones in the apartment (to the main unit including the living room, and to the kitchen) are made in China.

Two of the issues I am wrestling with here in Sudan are: polygamy and dowry. In many ways these two issues are directly related to the status and the rights of women. A man can marry another woman without being divorced, I do not think that a woman can marry another man without a divorce. This is something I want to check into further. I have found that there are women here in the North whose husbands have simply left them and gone to the South to marry a new wife and have another family.

In China and India families pay a dowry to the husband and/or his family. Here in Sudan the future husband must pay a dowry to the bride's family. This is how families become wealthy. If a father has several daughters he will have many cows as his daughter's marry. Whose best interests are considered in marriage? The father who covets wealth or the daughter?
Blessings,
Debbie