5 November 2024
Apr 10, 2019 by 500 Words Magazine -

What You Need to Know About this Viral Photo and What it Represents

Image of Alaa Salah chanting anti-government slogans, surrounded by protesters in the five-day-long mass sit-in in Khartoum on 8 April, 2019. Image credit: Lana H Haroun

Videos and pictures of a young woman leading chants in anti-government protests in Khartoum has gone viral overnight since it first appeared on 8 April, 2019. Pictures have been shared hundreds of thousands of times on social media, and has been picked up and made headlines on international news such as The Guardian, BBC, CNN, The Washington Post, BuzzFeed, OkayAfrica and more.

It is now recognised as one of the most iconic images of the Sudan uprising and symbolises women’s rights, feminism and women empowerment in the ongoing Sudan protests.

Who is the young woman?

The young woman has been identified as 22-year-old Alaa Salah who is a student studying engineering and architecture in Sudan.

Who took the picture?

The picture of Alaa Salah standing on a car, raising her arm to the air and finger upwards in the midst of a mostly female crowd of protesters, holding their phones to capture the moment was taken by local photographer Lana Haroun.

Although there are many pictures and videos of Salah at the protests, the picture taken by Haroun has been the most shared picture of Salah – retweeted over 14,000 times on Twitter. It has been picked up by many well-known figures in Sudan and in the world such as Halle Berry, Piers Morgan, Joyce Karam, and more.

The image has been widely celebrated, praising Salah and Sudanese women in general for their role in the ongoing protests in Sudan.

 

Overnight, the picture inspired a wave of artwork celebrating it. The picture has even been compared to the statue of liberty.

Where are the protests taking place?

Although anti-government protests have been taking place in Sudan since December 2018, a new wave of protests have brought over a million Sudanese protesters to the streets since 6 April, 2019. The Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), the entity leading the ongoing anti-government protests in Sudan, called out for a mass demonstration on 6 April to the headquarters of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in Khartoum and across Sudan in a protest dubbed as the ‘Million Persons Protest of 6 April’ or ‘A Million on 6 April’, aiming to bring at least one million protesters out to the streets of Sudan.

Tens of thousands successfully marched to SAF and soon after staged a sit-in, bringing millions out, determined to stay until President Omar Al Bashir and his regime steps down. They brought makeshift tents, food and water in the five-day-long sit-in. The mass demonstration turned sit-in is recognised as the most successful anti-government protest of the Sudan uprising achieving the biggest and longest-running protest to date. 

Since 6 April, at least 20 people have been and dozens injured in the new wave of mass protests and sit-in. Since the Sudan uprising first began in December 2018, at least 60 people have been killed, hundreds injured and more than a 1,000 arrested. 

Alaa Salah is one of many 

Women have been at the forefront of protests since the Sudan uprising began. Many women were seen chanting, singing, giving out food and water, helping the injured, marching alongside their countrymen and more in the ongoing protests.

Prior to Alaa Salah making headlines, videos of this woman chanting in the midst of a small crowd of women in the anti-government protests on 6 April was widely shared on social media.

This woman was leading a mostly male protest on 10 April, 2019.

Here’s a video of two young Sudanese women performing spoken word at protests on 9 April, 2019.

Another video shows a woman whistling a traditional Sudanese zaghroota to celebrate the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) for standing stood by protesters. One of the army men was brought to tears.

Another woman is seen giving out flowers to a SAF personnel.

This pictures shows a woman carrying a water container, giving out water to protesters.

Earlier this year, in the months of February and March, students of the women-only Ahfad University for Women (AUW), played a major role in the ongoing protests in Sudan, protesting within their campus and on the streets.  

Students at AUW introduced the ‘White Toub’ trend, which women such Alaa Salah have worn in the ongoing protests. A toub is a traditional long piece of thin cloth Sudanese women wrap around the body and over the head. A white toub represents women empowerment and feminism in Sudan as well as independence, strength and purity. A white toub is usually worn by working Sudanese women in the workplace or during mourning.

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Apr 9, 2019

Apr 13, 2019
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