In 2019, the most hopeful story on Earth was being written in Sudan. Millions of Sudanese — led, unforgettably, by their women — filled the streets and transformed Khartoum’s vast sit-in outside the military headquarters into a living symbol of freedom, where poetry, music, debate, and solidarity replaced fear.

It was a peaceful revolution that captivated the world and proved that courage could defeat dictatorship without bullets. The world answered. Washington lifted the terrorism designation that had isolated Sudan for a generation. Creditors moved to cancel billions in debt. Sudan appointed its first female chief justice and its first female foreign minister, repealed repressive public-order laws that had long targeted women, signed onto the Abraham Accords, and began rejoining the world. A pariah was becoming a partner.