Gender and Sexuality Studies

Abstract

This paper explores the experiences of Sudanese enslaved women during the nineteenth century, focusing on the implications of slavery practices and their responses through religious spiritualism. The trans-Saharan and Red Sea slave trades significantly impacted Sudanese women, who were trafficked as domestic laborers, concubines, and agricultural workers across the Ottoman Empire, Egypt, and Arabia. Their roles were shaped by the gendered nature of slavery, where women faced unique forms of exploitation, including sexual violence, forced reproduction, and erasure of familial bonds. These oppressive conditions, however, did not entirely suppress their agency. Sudanese enslaved women turned to Islamic spiritualism and Sufi practices as means of survival, resistance, and self-preservation. By engaging in communal rituals, spiritual healing, and the invocation of divine intervention, they carved out spaces of autonomy within the constraints of bondage. This paper argues that religious spiritualism served not only as a form of psychological resilience but also as a subtle challenge to the dehumanizing institution of slavery. By contextualizing these women's spiritual practices within broader African diasporic religious movements, the study highlights the intersection of gender, spirituality, and resistance in the lived experiences of Sudanese enslaved women. The findings offer critical insights into the resilience of enslaved women and their strategies for navigating the intersecting oppressions of gender, race, and slavery.

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