Fatima Ahmed Ibrahim was a courageous Sudanese activist who fought for the rights of women. She was also my father's friend and comrade. In the background of this image are two stories Fatima told when she visited us in New York.
In one story, she was trying to leave the country. At that time, women were only allowed to travel from Sudan with an older male relative, and Fatima was traveling with only her son. They arrested her and took her to court. Once in the courtroom, someone angrily told her to cover her head in the presence of men. Fatima looked around at everyone in the room. She responded, "I don't see any men."
Another time, when she was in the women's prison, she tool the opportunity to teach women to read. If they could read, they could interpret the Qur'an for themselves. Well, the government didn't like that. So they kicked her out of the prison. The women sang for her, lamenting her departure.
