Intisar el-Zein Soughayroun (also: ''Intsar'', ''al-Zein'', ''el-Zein'', ''Sghairyoun'', ''Segayron''; ) is a professor of

archeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeolo ...

at the

University of Khartoum The University of Khartoum (U of K) () is a public university located in Khartoum, Sudan. It is the largest and oldest university in Sudan. UofK was founded as Gordon Memorial College in 1902 and established in 1956 when Sudan gained independen ...

. In early September 2019 Soughayroun became the Sudanese Minister for Higher Education in the Transitional

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

of Prime Minister

Abdalla Hamdok Abdalla Hamdok Al-Kinani (also transliterated ''Abdallah'', ''Hamdouk'', '' AlKinani''; ; born 1 January 1956) is a Sudanese public administrator who served as the 15th prime minister of Sudan from 2019 to October 2021, and again from November ...

, during the

2019 Sudanese transition to democracy Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * '' 19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * '' Dici ...

Archaeological research

Soughayroun is a professor of

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

at the

. She is involved in ongoing scientific collaboration with the

University of Bergen The University of Bergen () is a public university, public research university in Bergen, Norway. As of 2021, the university had over 4,000 employees and 19,000 students. It was established by an act of parliament in 1946 consolidating several sci ...

in Norway. Her research interests include the archaeology of Islam in Sudan. She has worked on the site of Qasr Wad nimieri, which is 470 km north of Khartoum. She studied for her MA and her PhD at the

American University in Cairo The American University in Cairo (AUC; ) is a private research university in New Cairo, Egypt. The university offers American-style learning programs at undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels, along with a continuing education program. ...

, with a doctoral dissertation examining Islamic domed tombs in Sudan; she graduated from her PhD in 1986. Soughayroun was co-director of the Meroe Archival Project, which was a collaboration between the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as the University Extension College, Reading, an extension college of Christchurch College, Oxford, and became University College, ...

and the University of Khartoum.

Publications include

* ''Islamic Archaeology in the Sudan'' * 'Ottoman Archaeology of the Middle Nile Valley in the Sudan', in ''The Frontiers of the Ottoman World''

2018–2019 Sudanese protests

Soughayroun participated in the 2018–2019 Sudanese protests. One of her nephews was killed in the 3 June 2019

Khartoum massacre The Khartoum massacre occurred on 3 June 2019, when the armed forces of the Sudanese Transitional Military Council, headed by the Lieutenant-General Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman Burhan of the Sudan Armed Forces and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daga ...

. In early July 2019, she expressed scepticism regarding negotiations with the Transitional Military Council, based on past experience, and supported continued

civil disobedience Civil disobedience is the active and professed refusal of a citizenship, citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders, or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be cal ...

. She felt that the TMC was weakening in power.

Minister of Higher Education

In early September 2019, Soughayroun was appointed as the Minister of Higher Education of Sudan (or head of the Higher Education and Scientific Research Council) in the Transitional

of Prime Minister

, during the

. Other women leaders of Sudan during the transitional period include Chief Justice

Nemat Abdullah Khair Nemat Abdullah Mohamed Khair (; other transliterations: ''Neemat'', ''Nimat'', ''Abdallah''; born 1957) is a Sudanese judge of the Sudanese Supreme Court who became Chief Justice of Sudan (head of the Sudanese judiciary) on 10 October 2019 un ...

, and Sovereignty Council members Aisha Musa el-Said and Raja Nicola.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zein Soughayroun, Intisar 1950s births Higher education and scientific research ministers of Sudan Women government ministers of Sudan Living people People of the Sudanese revolution University of Khartoum alumni The American University in Cairo alumni Academic staff of the University of Khartoum Sudanese women archaeologists Sudanese women academics Sudanese social scientists 21st-century Sudanese women politicians 21st-century Sudanese politicians