From 2018-2020, investigative journalist, Fateh Al-Rahman Al-Hamdani went undercover in 23 different Sudanese Islamic educational institutions, known as khalwas. He witnessed and filmed physical and emotional abuse carried out by the religious men, or sheikhs, in charge of the schools. In 2020, Hamdani released a documentary for BBC News Arabic with video evidence of children from the age of five being shackled, beaten and starved of food and water. He also spoke to some children who accused the sheikhs of sexual abuse, however, they did not appear in the documentary. Hamdani began his research to find evidence for the widespread abuse in Sudanese khalwas in order to expose the sheikhs and their abuse of power. His aim was to create a platform for the vulnerable children who had to endure this abuse.