#PressForProgress: Celebrations of the International Women’s Day
Importance of women in South Sudan: Celebration of the International Women’s Day under the theme #PressForProgress
March 8, 2018 (SSB) — Today, the entire world is celebrating International Women day, but I am seeing our country South Sudan is relaxing and this brought a lot of questions to my mind why our countrymen are not celebrating it? South Sudan like any other country in the world is supposed to recognize the respect of women and join the world on women emancipation because women are very important in our society. Women play a very vital role in human progress and have a significant place in the society and if there is no women no nation because women are the mothers of the nation. Women are people makers where there are women, there can also exist. But if men stay alone the society get wild but with the presence of women, men behave in the responsible way compare when they are alone.
Therefore, Right of the women should be observed and they should be treated with respect as human being. I critically observed that women are less corrupt and are not warrior some. If South Sudan was led by Woman it could have been peaceful compare the situation where are now. Second corruption would not reach the current level where are in now. To agree with me you can compare the years of Hellen Johnson Sirleaf
They are not at all inferior to men. They are capable of sharing all the responsibilities of life. Man and woman have been rightly compared to the wheels of the same carriage. Christianity religion has accorded an equal position to women in the society. Christian realized the importance of women and granted them a very dignified position equal to man. The main responsibility of a woman is to preserve the human race. As a mother, her position is unique. She brings up the children with extreme care. The first school of a child is the lap of his mother.
It is quite true that great man had great mothers. Napoleon said: “Give me good mothers and I will give you a good nation.” The progress of nation depends upon the way the mothers bring up their children. If the mothers are educated, the whole society will progress. Women have always played an important role in the progress of a nation. In the early days of Islam, women worked side by side with men. During the liberation struggle of our country, women played a greater roles such women like Hon. Nunu, Ager Agum, Adam-mathiang, Achol-Tarif Garang, Achol Kiir Deng mother to Ajang Reuben Deng and Aluel Ayiei, Abany Anai Kur, Yar Piel Biar In the battlefield, they nursed the injured, kept up the supplies and in certain cases even fought bravely. Florence Nightingale was the woman, who led a very successful campaign for the reforms of hospitals and nursing profession. Women had been great saints, scholars, poets, writers, reformers and administrators. Women should be given proper education and training. They should know what life is and how it should be lived. Educated women can do much to reform the society. Many disturbances in the society is created by those anti-social persons, who were brought up by wrong hands. In modern age, women are going very well in all the fields of progress. They are demonstrating their talents in best. They are serving as teachers, doctors, Engineers, Administrators and even head of the states. The literacy rate among the women so in South Sudan is very low. The need is to increase this ratio. More education among the women means the more progress of the society.
For South Sudan to match the world it should do the following suggestions:
• First, we South Sudanese need to change social attitudes towards women’s participation in public life, brought about by customs and traditions that degrade the level of women to preparation of food and caring for siblings under absolute whim of man; there is a great demand of public awareness to take place. This should take a long term approach, and include public awareness raising around gender, knowledge of democratic values and practices, the roles and responsibilities of voters’ as well how to hold elected officials accountable.
• There is a need for women rights group to conduct research on statistical evidence about educated women in South Sudan, including their political colors and non-partisans women. It is imperative now before next general elections to map out potential aspiring women at all levels of contestable offices. This exercise is significant for effective lobbying and policy change for aspiring women leaders to prove their alternative leadership, leading to the election and appointments into political leadership and other professional service.
• Call on the national government to enact the family law on general principles and use South Sudan diverse cultures and traditions as exception to the general rule. The law will specifically define issues of marriage and marriageable age, inheritance, divorce, succession etc.. For example in the statutory court proceeding, the particular custom of an ethnic group can be the basis of a judgment but, if such custom of the party in question contradicts the state law and rule of natural justice, then the judge will have to declare such custom null and void and use general rule in the determination of case.
• Call on the national government to prepare a ‘national gender capacity development plan’ for civil servants, elected representatives, political parties, commissions and ministries. In practice, the same arrangements exist in Indonesia or pay a visit to that end and see applicable procedures. The women in Indonesia were facing similar exclusion in politics and governance more than South Sudanese women and now have raised their level of participation in national decision making process. Perhaps the government may be skeptical about why training women to compete men in government but human resource development is a primary role of every democratic state unless otherwise.
• There is need for gender equity in everything including in school, enrolment of girls and boys should be encourage in the school.
• Call on the national government to make provisions in the forthcoming permanent constitution, that vested the judiciary with competence to declare some customs and tradition invalid, null and void since the contradict to some provisions of the constitution and discriminate women not to come closer to the national decision making arena.
So let’s promote women in the society in order to make our country to be a better place to live.
Ustaz John Garang Ayii Riak
Teaching Assistant (T.A) at Dr. John Garang Memorial University of Science and technology, Bor Jonglei State
Can be reached at (johngayii2014@gmail.com)
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