When the cold rains kept on and killed the spring, it was as though a young person died for no reason – Hemingway The last week or so of Ramadan I stopped writing because I […]

{The Who’s Who of Sudanese Cuisine}
We’ve all been put into this uncomfortable position of trying to describe to our non-Sudanese friends what exactly is… shamaar. “Its this… green, grainy, spice… that looks like dry grass thats been chopped up. But […]

{Cry, my Beloved Onion}
I love food. Its the only thing I can unabashedly say that four lettered word to without any hesitation or afterthought. I love it. I love how its made, tastes, looks, smells, feels and all […]

The Picky Byra {Spinster}
The Picky Byra البايرة ال— I know what they’ve told you أعلم ما أخبروك You a wilted flower بأنك زهرة ذابلة Past its bloom تخطت زمن رونقها Your ovaries a wasted graveyard وبويضاتك أرض جرداء […]

{Taste of Heaven} by Hiba Rasheed
By Hiba Rasheed She knows… Three months old Eyes speak of untold feats Conceived one month early Sep 11 My neophyte revolutionary Her torrential presence rains On the arid terrains of my soul, Each drop, […]

Al Neel Waltz
Half her face was paralyzed in a blinding joy the other half in a crushing sorrow that started from within her shattered iris that left a trail of fissures along her jawline down to her […]

Street Baby
I ran into an angel More like she ran into me didn’t even reach my knees, face, hands clothes caked with dirt A street baby Hugging my legs she looks up to my face Baby […]

Sudan is {EXPLICIT}
Am at a standstill. News after shitty news keeps assailing my ears & eyes but like any good fairytale I wanted to be able to write a story where even when things looked bleak, there […]

{Floods v. Housemaids: Sudan is Unaware}
First featured in Muftah on Aug 27, 2012 I’ve been washing dishes. Lots of dishes. It is my oasis from the hustle, the bustle and the noise. And if there are no dirty dishes? I wash […]

[A Sudanese Summer: The Sudan Revolts One Month On] By #SudanRevolts*
Originally Posted on Muftah.Org on Aug 15, 2012 | http://muftah.org/a-sudanese-summer-the-sudan-revolts-one-month-on/3/ Artist: Khaled Albaih. All rights reserved. On the evening of June 16, 2012, female students living in the University of Khartoum dormitories demonstrated against increasing accommodation […]

{A Bona Fide Deen}
Published in Muftah We all remember our first days of fasting; the look of pride and elation at finally being able to partake in this very grown up thing, smugly refusing any juice-boxes with a […]

{Sudan Needs Our Devotion!}
Published in Muftah I’ve been going through a technicolor brouhaha of emotions. We’re all experiencing these stages; first it was weightless elation, then suffocating worry, and now… doubt. You know that heavy doubt, like that Meryl […]

{The Agony of the Sudanese Diaspora}
Published in Muftah Something awe inspiring is happening right now, right at this very moment in Sudan, as I type these words. Something that we could only speak to our pillows about at night, sending […]

The Loneliest in Khartoum
Tell me you don’t stand there after your salaat still numb Fumbling with words You The loneliest of Khartoum Turn to your drinks, & your puff, & your tricks In heat In pursuit For […]

Ramadan Amreeky
Kitchen :Haven of the Bitchy Outbursts: Delicately she slices the two cloves of garlic into thin oval shapes. Scraping them aside on the cutting board she takes the wet parsley shaking it vigorously, loving the […]

{Gut Dilemma}
Personally, am not a believer of love at first sight. Should you feel a pang, boom and POW, that is certainly a ‘lust at first sight’. But I do believe in the ‘click’. It’s not […]

I Gots Ta have Him!
Avoiding the stark beauty of you I lower my gaze. Walking into this Technicolor commotion of firehot candy, toub wearing transitionally young ladies, these porcelain beauties: painted eyes, angled brows, listless skin, spun silk, cherry […]

She be a HouseWife/ Tongue-Biting Heroines
Typical how the scene unfolds. A pretty young girl, twenty three with a degree, top graduate from the University of Khartoum, far from a silly twit, soft-spoken, strong values, intelligent eyes, a future set with […]

Auditory Sensation
I looked into the eyes of my beloved, and I was set free. Feeling the crisp crunch of gravel under my feet I stop to admire the gathering encompassed in tacky lights and excited murmurings from […]