“This country is so beautiful but nobody is looking at it,” remarks Soad Dorjwat, an elderly woman from the Nuba Mountains. A grandmother, farmer and a traditional singer, Dorjwat has has lived through decades of armed resistance in the rebel controlled area of the Nuba Mountains.

Women in the conflict zones are often the unsung heroes in the war: caught between their traditional roles and new responsibilities derived from the conflict. With men on the battlefield, women are often the sole providers and caretakers for extended families. This year marks one of the toughest seasons yet in the Nuba Mountains with some of the highest food insecurity since the conflict began in 2011.

“I don’t think about a lot of things,” comments Sakina Jar A-Nabi Bashir, a teacher and local restaurant owner in Gidel, “just about peace and how it can come back one day.” In this short video commemorating International Women’s Day, Dorjwat and Jar discuss their dreams of peace for the Nuba Mountains. “We want to be happy,” says Dorjwat, “if there is peace everyone will be happy.”