Many women are in jail in Sudan for being found guilty. Often, it's only little amounts of money like 50 Euros that are missing. That is why they are separated from their children and put behind the bars.
Safiya, a medical student at the faculty in Khartoum, founded the Mahabba initiative together with her friends in 2017 to help women out of this debt trap: They enabled prisoners to produce bags in a sewing workshop in prison. They initially sold them to friends and via social media, but soon also through outlets in the city. With the profit, the women can pay off their debts and will be able to provide for their families' livelihood in the future. In a short time, they were able to sell 1,500 bags and help 30 women.
The demand and success of the project has encouraged Safiya and her friends to build a second workshop outside of the prison. We, women for the Middle East, have been able to finance the sewing machines for this, thanks to your donations. As of next week, Mahabba will start a workshop to enable women outside the prison to make a living.
This is our Mahabba partner team in Sudan. With the help of our donations and the support of the Thuringian State Chancellery, the training workshop for women at risk of being found guilty was opened in Khartoum.