By Ishaya Ibrahim
Alaa Salah is just 22. An engineering and architecture student at the University of Khartoum who could have chosen to remain at home while her countrymen and women pound the streets, asking the dictator, Omar Al-Bashir who has held the rein of power for 30 years to quit.
No. She defied the scorch of the sun, burning at 43-degree Celsius to join the marchers. It paid after four months of street protests.
On Thursday, April 11, the military removed Bashir and announced a two-year transition council which it would spearhead.
Although Salah and her fellow marchers did not march the streets for the military to replace Bashir, the consolation however is that it is the first phase of a lengthy victory.
For the 22 years, she has lived on earth, Al-Bahir is the only man Salah has known as the country’s leader. That is frustrating enough.
Then, there was biting inflation which shot the price of bread, coupled with the boredom of seeing one leader for such a long time, Salah joined the protesters.
She caught international attention through a picture taken by Lana Haroun that was shared on social media. She was dressed in all white, providing melodious songs to keep the protest alive.
Alaa Salah was born in 1997. Her mother is a dressmaker and her father works in the construction industry.
She is studying engineering and architecture at Sudan International University in Khartoum.