Activists in Sudan honor women’s role in protests

By Mohammed Amin</p> <p>KHARTOUM, Sudan (AA) – Thousands of activists filled the streets of Sudan’s capital Thursday to honor women for taking part in the ongoing uprising against President Omar al-Bashir’s rule.</p> <p>The demonstrations in Khartoum came ahead of International Women’s Day.</p> <p>Police used tear gas to suppress the crowds and blockaded Burri, a residential district of the city, for several hours.</p> <p>The No Suppression of Women Initiative, an independent organization, said in a statement that thousands of women marked International Women’s Day by staging brief sit-ins in front of the homes of iconic Sudanese women in parts of the capital.</p> <p>“We witnessed a great day, despite the suppression and excessive violence of the police. Thousands of women took to the streets of Khartoum to celebrate their day,” it said in part.</p> <p>The Sudanese Professional Association (SPA) had called for rallies Thursday ahead of International Women's Day, which is marked on March 8 every year.</p> <p>Meanwhile, the Alliance of Democratic Lawyers confirmed in a statement that the emergency courts have dropped their verdicts against dozens of protesters after their lawyers made an appeal.</p> <p>“Those who have been sentenced from three to five years in prison due to protesting have been freed after the courts dropped the verdicts against them,” it stated.</p> <p>Some 870 protesters have been brought before the emergency courts in Khartoum in the past few days, according to the alliance.</p> <p>