Mahmoud lived in southern Kordofan. Because of war in south Sudan, she moved to Khartoum. She started to sell tea by the side of the road. Every day, the local police harassed her and threatened her. She could not go to the government, so she organized women. She helped them talk to politicians and use the media to get attention for their problems. The police put her in jail for four years. Finally the courts of Sudan said she was free. With the help of the Sudanese Development Association, an NGO, she started an organization to help the women who sell tea.