Darfur Women Action Group

The Darfur Women Action Group (DWAG) is a women-led, anti-atrocities nonprofit organization founded on June 25, 2009, by Niemat Ahmadi, a survivor of the Darfur genocide. It was established in the United States in the aftermath of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir's expulsion of humanitarian aid organizations from Sudan, following his indictment by the International Criminal Court. At a time when Darfur was extremely isolated, attacks continued, and rape and starvation were used as weapons of war, DWAG was created to keep Darfur on the international agenda and to amplify the voices of women and genocide-affected communities. DWAG holds 501(c)(3) status and operates as a frontline advocacy and humanitarian organization responding to the crisis in Sudan. Its work combines on-the-ground support, documentation of human rights abuses, and mobilization of global action to protect civilians and drive accountability. The organization's mission is the protection and empowerment of women and all people affected by conflict, violence, human rights abuses, genocide, gender-based violence, and marginalization in Sudan. Its priorities include accountability for atrocities and inclusive policy responses so that marginalized, conflict-affected communities—particularly women—are both protected from abuses and directly represented in decision-making. Programmatically, DWAG runs emergency humanitarian assistance and protection efforts, including evacuation, food and medical assistance to 260,000 families across Darfur, documentation of gender-based violence, and trauma counseling. It also operates a South Kordofan Women and Children Protection project providing community-based protection services, child safeguarding interventions, and related advocacy. The organization describes women not simply as victims but as agents of change and leaders within their communities. DWAG engages in advocacy, policy work, and campaigns, encouraging supporters to stand with Sudan through updates, petitions, letters, and rapid-response actions. It partners with organizations interested in collaborating to serve communities in Darfur and Sudan and to advocate for their protection and accountability. Its vision is a world where justice for all, equal rights, and respect for human dignity are the primordial ethics.

The Darfur Women Action Group (DWAG) was founded on June 25, 2009, by Niemat Ahmadi, a survivor of the Darfur genocide. According to the organization's origin story, DWAG came into existence at a time of desperation and greater sorrow for the people of Darfur, when everything seemed impossible. It was established soon after former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir expelled all humanitarian aid organizations from Sudan following his indictment by the International Criminal Court. At that time, attacks continued, and rape and starvation were used as weapons of war; Darfur was extremely isolated and there was no news coming out of the region. The founder has recounted that only those with families on the ground could tell the magnitude of the catastrophe. Because there was no news, activists, advocates, and policymakers outside Sudan who had once mobilized for action on Darfur assumed the crisis was over. Attention among the anti-genocide movement sharply declined and gradually faded, while funding for both humanitarian and advocacy work declined and organizations in the United States began moving away to other crises. The founder described it as devastating to see the movement they had worked alongside many others so hard to build going away while millions of genocide victims were suffering, abandoned and dying in silence. Having fled genocide herself, the founder felt compelled to act rather than walk away, and decided to revive a promise made five years earlier to fellow Darfuris while fleeing. The answer was to establish DWAG with three fundamental priorities: to keep Darfur on the agenda of the international community; to empower and amplify the voice of women and genocide-affected communities to speak for themselves; and to fight for their causes. Since its founding, DWAG has grown into a frontline advocacy and humanitarian organization responding to the crisis in Sudan, delivering on-the-ground support, documenting human rights abuses, and mobilizing global action to protect civilians and drive accountability. The organization holds 501(c)(3) status and is women-led, with leadership and programming grounded in firsthand experience and direct engagement with affected communities. Its work has expanded to include emergency humanitarian assistance and protection—providing evacuation, food and medical assistance to 260,000 families across Darfur, documenting gender-based violence, and providing trauma counseling—as well as a South Kordofan Women and Children Protection project offering community-based protection services, child safeguarding interventions, and advocacy. DWAG continues to pursue accountability for atrocities and inclusive policy responses so that marginalized, conflict-affected communities, particularly women, are both protected from human rights abuses and directly represented in decision-making.

• 2009

  Darfur Women Action Group founded on June 25 by Niemat Ahmadi, a Darfur genocide survivor, after al-Bashir's expulsion of humanitarian aid organizations from Sudan.

A women-led, survivor-founded anti-atrocities nonprofit focused on protection, accountability, and inclusive policy responses for conflict-affected communities in Sudan.

1. 1Darfur Women Action Group |darfurwomenaction.org
2. 2Our Story | Darfur Women Action Groupdarfurwomenaction.org
3. 3About Us | Darfur Women Action Groupdarfurwomenaction.org
4. 4Wikidatawikidata.org