Araqi (drink)

Araqi or araki is a date-liquor distilled illegally in Sudan. The 1983 introduction of sharia in Sudan prevents licit sales of alcohol, but a black market exists to meet local demand. The drink is made by mixing dates with water and yeast, fermenting the mix, and then distilling it. It is usually drunk neat.[1]

During the Sudan conflict, a number of southern Sudanese women came to the north as refugees, and found that some of the only professions available to them were prostitution or brewing araqi, the latter being a skill some already had, with a reliable market demand. A 2000 UN report noted that 80% of the women in Khartoum's women's prison were there on charges of prostitution or brewing araqi.[2]

References

  1. ↑ "Sudan's date-gin brewers thrive despite Sharia". BBC News. 2010-04-29.
  2. ↑ Rogaia Mustafa Abusharaf (1 August 2009). Transforming Displaced Women in Sudan: Politics and the Body in a Squatter Settlement. University of Chicago Press. pp. 73–. ISBN 978-0-226-00201-9.

See also


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