Meet Aluel Manyok Barach: A Proud South Sudanese Feminist and Social Activist
Meet Ms. Aluel Manyok Barach: A proud feminist and social activist whose work is shaping lives of women and youth in South Sudan
By Ms. Amer Mayen Dhieu, Brisbane, Australia
Wednesday, January 09, 2019 (PW) — Meet Ms. Aluel Manyok Barach, a fierce feminist whose work for gender equality, women empowerment and peaceful coexistence between men and women, tribes and political parties shine bright like snow. I first came across Ms. Aluel Manyok, popularly known as Aluel Naomi, via her social media updates in regards to gender equality and peace process in the newest nation of South Sudan.
Clicking on her profile page one afternoon, I stumbled upon some of her personal information that was intriguing enough to share. Ms. Aluel Manyok describes herself as fierce South Sudanese social activist and feminist who is strongly passionate about gender equality and peaceful co-existence. As a true champion of her own persona and an agent of change to many, Ms. Aluel Manyok graduated from Makerere University with Bachelor of Economic Development (Hons) and have participated in number of international programs of which she is current generation Change Fellow as well as YALI program Alumni.
Feminism is one of the major disciplines in academia that advocates for the rights and freedom of women in education, employment, equal opportunities, political representation and involvement of women in decision-making as well as social related actions that aim at bettering women’s lives to the standard similar to that of men. Having received much opposition from the male-dominated society due to misconceptions and changes brought upon by globalization and ancient culture transition, feminism has multiplied into different factions striving to tackle different types of social, political and economic inequalities and social injustice facing women across the globe.
Although there are differences in the nature of problems facing women globally, being a feminist require both men and women to believe in changing the way women are perceived with the help of socially constructed ideologies that no longer add up to the contemporary global societies.
For South Sudan, being a feminist means being able to work to empower, motivate and inspire women, promote women empowerment, advocate for girl education, abolition of forced and early child marriages, among many others. In addition, being a feminist does not only require both men and women to believe in feminism principles or advocate against unequal treatment of women but also require them to lead and act as an example of those principles.
Ms. Aluel Manyok firmly believes in nations where women are given opportunities at all levels, where government policies reflect a need to address and tackle gender inequalities and promote gender equality and equity, where both women and men are contributing equally in political, social and economic development in the newest world state.
These feministic beliefs sometimes do come at a cost for Ms. Aluel Manyok who co-founded Crown the Woman, a non-governmental organization that aims at empowering girls and women to ensure they harness their potentials and contribute to nation building economically, socially and politically. The organization, which is supported by the Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), strives for realization and respect of women’s rights, enhancement of women’s security and the prioritization and provision of women’s basic needs.
Ms. Aluel Manyok’s feministic goals and objectives for Crown the Woman has special focus on investing in girls, women and children as the means of securing the future of South Sudan’s women in nation building and development processes.
In addition to co-managing Crown the Woman, Ms. Aluel Manyok also serves as South Sudan Women’s Representative to Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring and Verification Mechanism (CTSAMVM), an institution mandated to monitor compliance by the warring parties and armed groups, either under their control or invited to support them, to the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS) signed by South Sudanese warring Parties in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, September, 2018.
Proudly multitasking her womanly gifted super-powers, Ms. Aluel Manyok, whose hobbies includes reading, hiking, music, movies and nap-taking, also serves as a Deputy Chairperson on the Advisory Board of a project by Organization for Responsive Governance to document and archive the experiences of civil society in South Sudan as well as volunteering as a Peace Monitor with Juba University Institute of Peace, Development and Security Studies and coordinating the activities of Concerned Citizen’s Network for Peace (CCNP).
Ms. Aluel Manyok specialised in training youths, women, girls, community and faith-based/Religious leaders nationally, regionally and internationally on Conflict Transformation Skills and gender issues. Like many other young girls and women whose devotion, commitment and passion is rooted in women empowerment, Ms. Aluel Manyok’s work and inputs in the current peace agreement, especially her engagement with youth, women and community leaders, deserve applause. She is one of the hardworking youth whose dream for brighter and peaceful South Sudan motivates and inspires me.
Ms. Amer Mayen Dhieu, the co-founder and executive director for the Twic East Girls Scholarship Program (TEGSP), received her Bachelor of Social Science degree, majoring in Psychology and Human Services from the Christian Heritage College in Brisbane, Queensland, and her Masters of International Relations, majoring in International Security and Human Rights, from Griffith University in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. You can reach her via her email: Mayen Dhieu <mayendhieu90@gmail.com>
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