Three Sudanese men sit on the edge of a bed and watch intently as a clear spirit glugs into a four-litre container.


This is an Islamic country if you're caught drinking or they smell alcohol, you will be lashed
An araqi buyer

"A little more - it's not quite at the top," one of them instructs the sisters who are pouring the illegal date-gin known as "araqi".

The men are anxious not to be photographed in this small mud-walled home, where chickens are pecking the dirt floor, on the outskirts of Sudan's capital, Khartoum.

"This is an Islamic country - if you're caught drinking or they smell alcohol, you will be lashed," one of them explains. Forty lashes and a fine is the usual Sharia punishment.

Once the men are satisfied the carton is full, they hand over 30 Sudanese pounds (SDG) (about $13, £9).

"They are regular customers; they come about once a week," one of the sisters says after they leave.

"All of our customers are men and Arab, mainly Arab," she adds.

She and her sisters - who range in age from 15 to 22 - work with their mother brewing araqi each evening, as the sun sets.