South Sudan women seek 30 percent representation in a new state
By Rosebell Kagumire (Kampala, Uganda). The views expressed in this blog are the author’s own
South Sudanese women constitute over 60 percent of the population in Africa’s newest state. This has not been an act of nature but the reminder of the devastating effects of the 50 years of independence struggles where thousands and thousands of South Sudanese men were killed on different front lines.
In the lead up to the signing of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, a donors conference was held in Oslo where South Sudanese women came out to put their priorities, concerns and challenges. The women highlighted the impact of war on their lives and erosion of their capabilities. Among others they called for:
Recognizing the principle of 50% equal representation for women and men as enshrined in the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality and the IGAD Gender Policy, but cognizant of the context, situation and issues at stake, we recommend 30% as a minimum threshold for women’s representation at all levels and in all sectors. This includes:
Immediate inclusion of at least 30% representation by women in the Constitution making and review processes.
A minimum representation of 30% for women in decision-making positions at all levels, including transitional institutions and all commissions established under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).
Support urgent programmes for addressing negative customs and practices which continue to foster women’s marginalization and exclusion in all spheres of life.
Support and enhance women’s effective political participation and leadership at all levels, including within political parties with a strong and urgent support to capacity building for women’s leadership.
Finally in the CPA it was put that women would have a minimum of 25 percent representation in all leadership positions. In the National Assembly (parliament), the women representatives have passed this threshold but in many different State Assemblies the representation of women remains low. Also issues like lack of education hinder women from participation.
Coming from a country where the last twenty years have revolved around “those who fought” I can identify with the uphill task that women of South Sudan face on the eve of Independence. In a week-long meeting that I attended in Juba organised by Isis-WICCE for women leaders from five states, most women said that while women had fought alongside men in the battles, few women were being recognized. In a land where war heroes rule, it’s important to see women who sacrificed a lot be given due respect. The women talked of different women’s brigades that fought in the liberation wars who are no where to be seen after the agreement and the referendum that have led to the creation of the new country.
Of course its not only women who fought that should be recognised, most women kept the families together, looked after children amidst famine brought by the northern government’s scorched earth policy that was intended to make South Sudanese surrender. Women faced it all and ensured families and fighters had the food, many were tortured physically and sexually by both fighters and Khartoum government troops. This suffering and contributions should not be in vain. All these issues should be adequately addressed in the new state and women’s participation is paramount. The participation of 65 percent of the population in shaping the destiny of the new republic is vital and it must be ensured from the start. You can’t claim to work for women without them and President Salva Kiir Mayardit’s government should make this a priority in order to build a stable South Sudan.
One woman member of the State Legislative Assembly told the meeting that she was scared for women of South Sudan becoming like Eritrea “where women fought alongside their men and once the country was created they were pushed back to the kitchen.”
The women issued a communiqué which they took to the ministry of Gender, Child Affairs and Social Welfare listing top priorities ahead of the independence day celebrations. The communiqué is also to inform those interested inn the development of the new nation. Top of the list is to ensure the new constitution puts the minimum percent of women affirmative action at 30 percent. They also want to see major policies on girl child education and they even looked at an Uganda-like system where girls were given some additional points to increase their entry into high institutions of learning after years of war. Many said that most scholarships had not benefited women but had been used by those high up in the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), the ruling party to take their children to good schools outside the country. One woman leader said: “To women, independence from the north is half independence, we must be able to remove other forms of oppression and marginalization from our own communities.”