Speaking Her Name: Turning Heartbreak into Action for Sudan
For Qisma. For Sudan. For Justice.
Beloveds, have a seat. Let’s talk.
Normally, this space is about mixing a good drink and mixing even better conversation. It’s about connection, laughter, and the small joys we can create together. But sometimes, conversation must be about more than just pleasantries. Sometimes, it must be about the hard things. The things that break our hearts but must also galvanize our spirits.
In this moment, we’re pausing our regular everyday-as-usual, to speak a name that the world needs to hear: Qisma Ali Omar.
Qisma was a 22-year-old woman from Zalingei, in Sudan’s Darfur region. According to some reports, she was a tea seller, pouring warmth for her community. By others, a displaced farmer, a person connected to the land. She was a young woman simply trying to live her life amidst a brutal conflict she did not create.
But Qisma’s story was stolen and made into a symbol of unimaginable horror. Accused of being an informant by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), she was subjected to unspeakable torture and sexual violence, a tragedy captured in a video that has since shaken the global conscience. Her arms were bound. She was hung from a tree. She was killed.
The sheer, brutal cruelty of it is enough to make you want to turn away. To change the channel, to close the browser, to focus on something easier. But we can’t. We absolutely cannot.
Because Qisma is not just one story. She is the face of a systematic weapon of war: gender-based violence. Her death, and the widespread outrage it has sparked, is a stark reminder that in conflicts around the world, women’s bodies are treated as battlefields. Her story has become a devastating symbol for countless unnamed victims.
So, what do we do here, in our homes, thousands of miles away?
How do we process this?
We feel. We get angry. We mourn. And then, we channel that heartbreak into action.
This isn’t about a performative moment of sadness. This is about a sustained rise of humanity. Qisma’s name must become a rallying cry, not just a headline.
Here’s how we can start, right now:
1. Speak Her Name: Break the silence. Share her story. Talk about Qisma Ali Omar. The forces of cruelty thrive in darkness and silence. We counter them with light and noise. Use your voice on your platforms, however big or small.
2. Support the Voices on the Ground: Amplify Sudanese activists and human rights groups like the Darfur Network for Human Rights who are risking everything to document these atrocities and demand justice. Follow them, share their work, and if you can, donate.
3. Pressure for Accountability: The perpetrator has been identified. Demand that international bodies and governments with influence apply real pressure for arrest and prosecution. This cannot be another case of impunity. Contact your elected representatives and ask what they are doing to help.
4. Educate Yourself: The conflict in Sudan is complex, but it is not invisible. Take some time to understand the roles of the SAF and RSF and the profound human cost of this war.
At this very moment, let’s raise a glass. But let it be more than a drink.
Let’s raise a glass to Qisma Ali Omar. To her memory, to her stolen future, and to her profound dignity that her killers could never touch.
Let’s raise a glass to the women of Sudan and to all women living under the shadow of violence. May our solidarity be a shield, and our voices be their echo.
And let’s raise a glass to ourselves, challenging ourselves to not look away. To be the ones who facilitate change, however we can.
This is the heaviest of conversations, but it is also the most necessary. For Qisma, and for all who are unheard.
With a heavy heart and a determined spirit,
The Qocktails & Qonversations Team
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