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Reem Gaafar

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Sudanese writer and public health physician (born 1983)

Reem Gaafar
Native nameريم جعفر
Born1983 (age 40–41)
Sudan
Occupationwriter and public health physician
NationalitySudanese
Alma materUniversity of Juba, University of Liverpool
Years active2008–present
Notable worksA Mouthful of Salt
Notable awardsIsland Prize

Reem Gaafar (Arabic: ريم جعفر, born 1983) is a Sudanese writer, researcher and public health physician. Her fiction and non-fiction writing has been published in magazines and health-related publications. In 2023, she received the Island Prize for a Debut Novel from Africa for the manuscript of her forthcoming novel A Mouth Full of Salt.

Life and career

Gaafar grew up between New Zealand and Oman. In 2007, she obtained a Bachelor degree in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Juba in what was then southern Sudan. After having first served as a clinical practitioner, she turned towards public health in 2012 and served as community medicine resident at the Sudan Medical Specialization Board. In 2014, she obtained a Master of Public Health from the University of Liverpool, UK.

As a researcher and public health physician, Gaafar has been affiliated to the Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government, Dubai, United Arab Emirates and since 2022 as Graduate Research assistant at the Faculty of Health Sciences of Ontario Tech University in Canada. As consultant, she has worked for organizations including the WHO country office in Khartoum, the Transitional Government and Federal Ministry of Health in Sudan, the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, as well as for health communication campaigns in the MENA region. Among others, she has published studies related to COVID-19, mental health policy and health risks of children in Sudan and the UAE. In a 2014 article published by Al Jazeera, she was quoted with her very critical experience of the public health sector in Sudan.

In 2020, Gaafar was shortlisted for the Miles Moreland Foundation Writing Scholarship. In 2023, she won the Island Prize for a debut novel from Africa for the manuscript of her novel A Mouth Full of Salt. The title of the book refers to a Sudanese proverb that evokes the "taste left in one’s mouth after a great loss." She is the first novelist from Sudan to be distinguished by this award. The publisher Holland House Books gave a short description of this story, published in 2024 by Saqi Books:

During the search for a drowned boy in the North of Sudan, a strange woman appears and with her a series of strange and tragic events. Animals die of a mysterious illness; the date tree field catches fire and burns to the ground; a young girl dies. The women in this story are trapped in a gender and racial hierarchy, with ingrained bigotry blaming all change in society on evil outside forces.

— Holland House Books, A Mouth Full of Salt, Reem Gaafar

Advocacy for women's contribution to society

Gaafar also has advocated for women’s rights, women's health and civil society at large. In their 2019 article entitled Sudanese Women at the Heart of the Revolution, Gaafar and Sudanese journalist Omnia Shawkat explained the reasons, actions and vital role of Sudanese women before and during the 2018/19 Sudanese revolution. An important aspect in their analysis is the role that social media platforms have provided for the revolutionary mobilisation, where traditional media have failed. Her fiction and non-fiction writing has been published in magazines including African Arguments, African Feminism, Teakisi Magazine, Andariya, 500 Words Magazine, International Health Policies and Health Systems Global.

Selected publications

  • A Mouth Full of Salt. 2024. London: Saqi Books, ISBN 978-0-86356-772-8.

Short stories

  • Light of the Desert. Magid, Djamela, et al. (eds). 2014. I Know Two Sudans: An Anthology of Creative Writing from Sudan and South Sudan. ISBN 978-0993110801
  • Finding Descartes. Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond (ed.). 2023. Relations: An Anthology of African and Diaspora Voices. New York: Harpervia, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers. ISBN 978-0063089044

Essays and journalistic articles

  • The Never Ending Search For Home. 2016.
  • 30 Sudanese Women You Should Know. 2016.
  • Briefcase: Bridging Musical Generational Gaps. 2017.
  • FGM, Women Driving, And The Stockholm Syndrome Of Oppressive Societies. 2017.
  • Sudan Revolts. 2018.
  • Sudanese Women at the Heart of the Revolution. 2019.
  • Covid-19 Response in Sudan: The Pandemic vs. the Politics. 2022.

See also

References

  1. "Reem Gaafar". Andariya magazine. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  2. Balakrishnan, Melodena Stephens; Awamleh, Raed; Salem, Fadi (7 April 2022). Agile Government: Emerging Perspectives In Public Management. World Scientific. p. 445. ISBN 978-981-12-3971-7.
  3. Diab, Ola (30 July 2023). "Interview with Reem Gaafar, The First Sudanese to Win The Island Prize for African Novels". 500 Words Magazine. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  4. "Reem Gaafar, Maysoon Dahab and Rahaf Abukoura, Author at African Arguments". African Arguments. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  5. "Reem Gaafar". Researchgate. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  6. Abukoura, Reem Gaafar, Maysoon Dahab and Rahaf (28 January 2022). "Covid-19 Response in Sudan: The Pandemic vs. the Politics". African Arguments. Retrieved 4 October 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. Syeed, Nafeesa. "Sudan hospitals". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  8. Snaje, Olivia (12 April 2024). "History, superstition, and realism come together in Sudanese author Reem Gaafar's 'A Mouth Full of Salt'". www.theafricareport.com. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  9. Malec, Jennifer (15 June 2023). "Sudanese writer Reem Gaafar wins 2023 Island Prize for 'compelling, profound and brilliant' debut novel A Mouth Full of Salt". The Johannesburg Review of Books. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  10. "Saqi Books scoops 'searing' debut novel from Gaafar". The Bookseller. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  11. "The Shortlist 2023 | Holland House Books". Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  12. ^ Shawkat, Omnia and Reem Gaafar (12 February 2019). "Sudanese Women at the Heart of the Revolution". African Feminism (AF). Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  13. Ijeoma, Eneanya (21 June 2023). "Reem Gaafar is Blurring the Lines between Science and Creativity: In Conversation with Afrocritik". Afrocritik. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  14. Gaafar, Reem (18 December 2016). "The Never Ending Search For Home". Teakisi. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  15. Gaafar, Reem (15 June 2016). "30 Sudanese Women You Should Know". Teakisi. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  16. "Briefcase: Bridging Musical Generational Gaps by Reem Gaafar". Andariya. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  17. Gaafar, Reem (20 October 2017). "FGM, Women Driving, And The Stockholm Syndrome Of Oppressive Societies". Teakisi. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  18. Gaafar, Reem (17 January 2018). "Sudan Revolts". Teakisi. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  19. Abukoura, Reem Gaafar, Maysoon Dahab and Rahaf (28 January 2022). "Covid-19 Response in Sudan: The Pandemic vs. the Politics". African Arguments. Retrieved 4 October 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

Further reading

External links

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