Raja Nicola facts for kids

Raja Nicola Eissa Abdel-Masih (Arabic: رجاء نيقولا عيسى عبد المسيح) is an important civilian member of the Transitional Sovereignty Council in Sudan. This council acts as Sudan's head of state during a time of change. She was one of six civilians chosen for the original 11-member council.

Raja Nicola was the only civilian member whose name was agreed upon by both the Forces of Freedom and Change alliance (FFC) and the Transitional Military Council (TMC). This agreement was part of the plan for Sudan's government in August 2019. She was also the only civilian member of the council to be brought back into her role after a change in government leadership in 2021.

She is one of the first two women in modern Sudanese history to hold a role similar to a federal minister. She is also the first Christian person from the Coptic community to hold such a high political job in Sudan. As a judge, she helps manage Sudan's legal system.

Education and Early Career

Raja Nicola was born in Omdurman, a city in Sudan. She studied law and earned her degree from Cairo University in 1980.

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

Working for Minority Rights

Raja Nicola has spoken out about the rights of different groups of people. In September 2012, she mentioned that Christians in Sudan did not always get their full religious rights. For example, some employers did not give Christians their legal time for prayer. Also, some schools did not allow Christian children to miss school on Sundays for religious services.

She also shared that a special group, the Special Commission for the Protection of the Rights of Non-Muslims in Khartoum, used to help non-Muslims. This group worked to protect their rights and published reports for the government. However, this commission was closed in 2011.

In June 2021, Raja Nicola met with the Sudanese Solidarity Organization Against Racial Discrimination (SSOARD). She emphasized the importance of putting into practice all laws that fight against racial discrimination.

Role in the Sovereignty Council

The August 2019 Draft Constitutional Declaration set up the Sovereignty Council. This council was created to lead Sudan during its move towards democracy. This happened after many months of peaceful protests and a difficult event in Khartoum in June 2019.

Civilian groups wanted a government led entirely by civilians. The Draft Constitutional Declaration found a middle ground. It created a Sovereignty Council with five civilians chosen by the FFC, five military members chosen by the TMC, and a sixth civilian member. This sixth civilian was meant to be agreed upon by both sides, ensuring civilians had a majority.

In August 2019, Raja Nicola was chosen as this sixth civilian member. Both the FFC and the TMC agreed on her. Her selection, as a member of the Sudanese Coptic community, showed a step towards including different groups in the government.

After she became a member of the Sovereignty Council, Raja Nicola spoke about her hopes for the council. She said that the problems from the past 30 years were very big and would take time to fix. However, she promised that the council would work very hard together to meet the demands of the people.

See also

In Spanish: Raja Nicola para niños