Before the independence of South Sudan in 2011, the Interim National Constitution in the Darfur area explicitly prohibited discrimination based on gender.
Since the 1970s, the Darfur area has suffered some of the effects of the northern Arab war prosecuted in the south against Southern tribes who wanted to secede from the Sudan.
The Sudanese Government requires that anyone seeking entry to the Darfur area, for whatever purpose, must first obtain a special permit.
War has been the primary factor in the last few decades of the Darfur area.
Chad shares strategic borders with Libya, and the Darfur area of Sudan.
Radio Dabanga (also: Radio Darfur) is a shortwave radio station which serves the Darfur area of western Sudan.
He has worked as a language interpreter and guide for NGO's and the press on fact-finding trips into the war-torn and dangerous Darfur area.
The UN says conflict in the Darfur area has displaced around a million people.
On my last visit to the Darfur area in Sudan, in June, I found a man groaning under a tree.
There is a tribe with the same name in western Sudan's Darfur area and neighbouring Chad.