Hagir Elsheikh, Sudan

“I was born in a war-torn, poverty-stricken Sudan where social mores can inflict pain on female children who are identified as second-class human beings in an Islamic society by virtue of their femininity. This was a time when women were given 40 lashes for just wearing pants under the so-called ‘public order law.’
I was one of a few women activists who spoke publicly for the Democratic forefront. I experienced what happens in the infamous ‘Ghost Houses’ of Sudan, where brutality and murder are commonplace. I fought for women and human rights which meant that I was often detained and beaten. While still only in my second year of primary school, I was hung from a tree and beaten for 10 hours by Bashir’s security forces, leaving me bleeding from head to toe. I was not able to lay on my back or do anything for a whole month. During college, I continued to be detained and tortured until my head was cracked open with a metal bar, by the government militia. After being put on a wanted list I facilitated my escape to Egypt, where the UN Refugee Agency helped me immigrate to the United States in 2001.
I adapted to life in the United States but faced serious challenges with an abusive marriage. I became a nurse and now run my own staffing agency for healthcare workers. I founded the non-profit organization Tomorrow’s Smiles, which assists mostly Arabic-speaking immigrants who are a victims of domestic violence. I continue struggling for democracy and women’s rights in Sudan today. The Sudanese people overthrew Bashir in 2019, but then the military seized power in October 2021. I will never give up fighting for justice, in Sudan and for women everywhere.

The projected picture shows my daughters modelling for a series of photographs by Sara Bunn, which seeks to educate people about the Gullah Geechee through connecting textiles to heritage. It is a journey that my daughters and I were part of to make a difference.”