Exploring the Role of Intersectionality in Media Representations of Sudanese Tea Ladies

This thesis examines the representation of "Sitat Shai" experiences in online media articles and film. “Sitat Shai” is a term used to refer to Sudanese tea ladies, who are migrant women involved in specific forms of labor that include making and serving tea and coffee, washing dishes, and chatting with customers. They are often found within the city of Khartoum, its streets, old markets, educational institutes, in the corners of shops, and on Nile Street. Most tea ladies are war refugees and women from the west and south of Sudan, or from other neighboring countries. Their labor exposes them to different forms of harassment and violence by the state and society. This thesis develops a critical engagement that problematizes homogenous and limited media understandings of their lives and work. I argue that challenging traditional and limiting stereotypes of Sudanese tea ladies must foreground issues of race, gender, class, and nationality through an intersectional lens to understand how these women are positioned around the different axes of power and power differentials, including state and society.