How The Women-Only Facebook Group Minbar-Shat Helped Overthrow The Sudanese Government

Zoey Weinstein
Mr. Roddy
GPHC
10/26/19


How The Women-Only Facebook Group Minbar-Shat Helped Overthrow The Sudanese Government
In 2015, a woman in Sudan suspected that her fiance was cheating on her right before their marriage. She posted a message on Facebook, in search of any evidence her husband was cheating and learned that another woman was married to him! This woman began a Facebook group called Minbar-Shat as an online female group of “cheater detectives.” This group grew into more than just a cheater catching group of women. It grew into a group that fought for female equality in Sudan. They protested against  “morality laws,” which were dictator Omar Al-Bashir’s most notorious laws put in place. These laws gave police the right to whip anyone who didn't dress according to their laws of “public decency.” Minbar-Shat soon became a token platform that helped hold men accountable for discriminating against women. They continued to protest against countless issues in Sudan undr the Al-Bashir regime. By 2018, the protests grew in number and now included issues like the rise in food prices in economically disadvantaged areas. As the protests grew, Bashir gave officers permission and even encouragement to use AK-47 rifles, tear gas and batons to terrorize the protesters. 
The leader of the group, Omer was eventually arrested and put in prison and asked to take the website down. She refused and was let go. 
Minbar-What is still an important platform for politics in Sudan. In April of this year, Bashir was removed from power and he was replaced with the Sudan Sovereign Council. Sudanese government is recognizing women and the future's looking brighter.
This article was so interesting! As a teenager, I use social media a lot and it gets a bad reputation for setting unrealistic beauty standards and being a waste of time, which can 100% be true, but this article proves that there are countless benefits to social media and its power. It can even help take down the regime of a dictator! I personally love to use social media to share articles about important causes and share posts about current events and this article shows the true power social media has about getting the message out there and making change!



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