In her own words
A life story, not just a tale
My childhood ended early. Home was a small village within a large family, and school was a necessity of life rather than mere education. I trained as a physician — in Khartoum, in Jordan, in Britain — but when the 1989 coup overturned the country, I went from doctor to medic on the Eastern Front. I met my husband there, united with me in love for the people, and from that moment marriage, motherhood and the struggle moved together: pregnancy and study, raising children and building coalitions, all at once.
There were imprisonments, trials and defamation, and broken bones; the day in December 2010 when my arm and skull were broken became a turning point, after which I grew louder and more resolute. I lost my mother suddenly in 2008, and my father — my mentor and friend — to Covid in 2020. I served as Foreign Minister and resigned rather than accept a coup; and when war erupted in April 2023 I became, like millions of Sudanese, a refugee still working for peace amid polarisation, hatred and persecution. Through all of it, being among my people has been my passion and my consolation.
Adapted from her keynote "Women in Leadership," IGAD Leadership Academy, 2025.
