Photo: by Gary Raynaldo /   Sudanese woman wearing the colors of her flag’s homeland Sudan at protest in Dag Hammarskjold Plaza near the United Nations Headquarters in NY City  March 14, 2019. 

By Gary Raynaldo   DIPLOMATIC TIMES

March Is Women’s History Month being celebrated all over the United States to honor women’s contributions in American history  and contemporary society.  A rally was held in Dag Hammarskjold Plaza near the United Nations in Manhattan Thursday against the “oppressive” regime of  Sudan President Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir.   The rally was also  held to “shed light and share moments, narratives from the long history of suffering and achievements of women in Sudan including their  remarkable participation in ongoing political social movement for freedom, peace and justice,” according to the  protest’s organizers.  Since late last year, mass protests have spread across Sudan calling for an end to President Omar al-Bashir’s 30-year regime, with hundreds of demonstrators, many women,  being detained by Sudanese security forces.

Women are leading the push to topple Sudan’s Omar Hassan al-Bashir, and suffering for it: CBS NEWS

“There were new, large-scale protests on Thursday, organized pointedly on the eve of International Women’s Day specifically to honor Sudanese women’s role in leading the uprising against Bashir. Videos emerged online appearing to show protesters, male and female, chanting in the streets, being arrested and in some cases beaten in the back of pick-up trucks driven by Bashir’s security services,”  cbsnews.com reported .

Women Are Risking Their Lives On Frontline Of Sudan Uprising Against Al-Bashir 

Women have been at the forefront of the protests against Bashir, organizing marches and standing on each others’ shoulders to lead chants calling for his ouster,  CBS News.

Photo by:  Gary Raynaldo   /  Protesters rally against the Sudanese government of President al-Bashir in Manhattan Mar. 14, 2019 Dag Hammarskjold Plaza

Video by Gary Raynaldo / Rally Organizer Calls for Sudan President al-Bashir to be handed over to International Criminal Court for war crimes.

Credit: Wikipedia Commons /   Flickr-Al Jazeera English/ Sudanese president Omar al Bashir arrives in the southern Sudan capital of Juba circa 2011. 

Sudanese journalist could face death sentence for crimes against state

Credit: ukguardian.com /  Sudanese journalist and women’s rights campaigner Wini Omer says she is being targeted as part of an attempt by the authorities to bring other activists into line. Photograph: Stringer/AFP/Getty Image

A Sudanese journalist and outspoken campaigner for women’s rights could face the death penalty after allegations including prostitution and crimes against the state were made against her.  Wini Omer faces charges of prostitution and violating public morals. At a hearing last year, she was told that she could also face further charges of spying against the government and communications against the state. Omer and her supporters say she is being targeted because of her human rights work.

Photo by: Gary Raynaldo /  Protester displays placards accusing Sudanese government security forces of “mass rape”