Raja Nicola facts for kids

Raja Nicola Eissa Abdel-Masih (Arabic: رجاء نيقولا عيسى عبد المسيح) is a civilian member of the Transitional Sovereignty Council. This council acts as Sudan's head of state during a time of big changes in the country.

She was chosen as one of six civilians to be part of the original 11-member council. She was the only civilian member that both the civilian group, called the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC), and the military group, the Transitional Military Council (TMC), agreed upon.

Raja Nicola is very important because she is one of the first two women in modern Sudanese history to hold such a high government position. She is also the first Christian (from the Coptic community) to have such a high political job in Sudan. As a judge, she helps with the country's legal system.

Her Early Life and Education

Raja Nicola was born in Omdurman, a city in Sudan. She studied law and graduated in 1980 with a Bachelor of Laws degree from Cairo University.

Her Career as a Judge

After finishing her studies, Raja Nicola became a lawyer and later a judge. She worked for the Sudanese Ministry of Justice for many years, from 1982 until 2019. In 2019, she was appointed to the Sovereignty Council.

Standing Up for Minority Rights

Raja Nicola has always cared about the rights of different groups of people. In 2012, she spoke about how Christians in Sudan did not always get their full religious rights. For example, some employers did not give Christians time off for prayer. Also, some schools did not allow Christian children to miss school on Sundays for church.

She also mentioned a special group that helped non-Muslims in Khartoum. This group worked to protect their rights and reported to the government. However, this group was closed down in 2011 after South Sudan became an independent country.

In 2021, Raja Nicola met with a group called the Sudanese Solidarity Organization Against Racial Discrimination (SSOARD). She emphasized how important it is to have and follow laws that prevent racial discrimination.

Joining the Sovereignty Council

The 2019 Sudanese transition to democracy led to the creation of the Sovereignty Council. This council was formed to lead Sudan after a long period of protests. The idea was to have a mix of civilian and military leaders.

The council was designed to have five civilians chosen by the FFC, five military members chosen by the TMC, and one extra civilian. This extra civilian would be agreed upon by both sides, making sure civilians had a majority.

Raja Nicola was chosen as this special sixth civilian member. Her selection, as a member of the Sudanese Coptic community, showed that the new government wanted to include different groups of people, especially Sudanese Christians.

After she became a member of the council, she talked about her hopes for Sudan. She said that the problems from the past 30 years were huge and would take time to fix. But she promised that the council would work very hard to meet all the demands of the revolution.

See also

In Spanish: Raja Nicola para niños