#Mamarasakit: The Social Institutional Role of a Woman in Raising and Nurturing the Family in South Sudan

By Betty Yom Mageer, Nairobi, Kenya

Thursday, June 25, 2020 (PW) — Dear men and women of our great nation, I’d like to take this vital moment to shed light on and showcase the woman’s role in the family’s unity in South Sudan. I’m entirely aware that most of our citizenry know the uniqueness of the family’s oneness in our country. Family is a significant social institution in all societies in the universe. 

It is the foundation of great societies globally and it is where great men and women are raise and nurture before they become responsible and meaningful members of any civilized countries on this planet. Unity in a family is a lifeline and glue that cement great families together and it is undeniable in our society.

We all know that a good wife has a huge role in sustaining a marriage and family’s unity. Life’s circumstances of today has empowered womankind to liberate themselves from centuries of oppression, financial difficulties and relative anonymity in creating the social, economic and political guidelines more than any period in the history of the humankind.

The times have seen womenfolk rise as a force not just as a gender, but as a valid human in the humankind with equal voice, rights, liberty and access to opportunities. This is not to say that all challenges facing women have been all solve. But at least they’re consistently being broken to positive applause.

In addition, There’re various roles of a woman in shaping the fortunes and direction of a family. A woman is traditionally responsible for taking care of the family. As a wife, she is expected to serve her husband, family, preparing food, clothing and other personal needs. As a mother, she has to take care of the children and their needs, including education. 

Greater thinkers have voice their thoughts to the tune of saying that a good woman is a surety of a good family being progressed to the society. Not only does she complement her spouse and help him grow but also educates the children, tends to the older generation and in the process turns around the entire cultural edifice around which a family and a group of people might revolve.  

The women today need a clear picture of what the role of husbands and wives are, and how they may relate to them as their spouses and partners. While significant social and political changes in the past few decades have played the liberation card to hilt and to such widespread effect that defining roles is an idea which is as repugnant as they come. 

Women of today feel they stand to lose their identity and their freedom if they adhere to some type of outdated standard in playing wife, mother, and beloved member of a family structure. The unique responsibilities of a wife make her role a far more challenging one than many corporate offices can offer.

As a wife, you are not supposed to afford curtsies to your husband in reverence but love him, notice him, honor him, prefer him, regard him as your able partner and esteem him. Valuing his opinion, wisdom and character, affording leeway to his mistakes, appreciating his commitment to you, meeting his needs is what adds up to this role of a woman. 

Moreover, a woman need to help and respect her husband and this is a call to all women to become the hands which guides their husbands in times of strife and supply, in times of happiness and joust. By being a helper, you don’t need to feel the inferiority complex or being burdened with responsibility. Every man needs a bit of affection and hand-holding. 

The image of a strong, macho man who is independent, invulnerable, self-sufficient and unaffected by minor emotions is a myth. Every man desire several needs such as; confidence in his existence as a man, companionship from a woman, to be respected and valued as a partner and to be listened to.

Furthermore, loving is another role, and love in marriage, both physical and emotional is yet another significant role of a good wife. A wife knows how to soothe a husband, meet his needs and demands without losing herself in the process. At the same time, the lack of love and outreach from a wife can make her spouse feel alienated and depression in isolation. 

Marriages are built on two souls working together and the role of a wife in keeping it all together can’t be overstated. The husband may be the titular head, but the wife provides the heart.Together, they work the magic of a perfect relationship.Additionally, another very crucial role; is submit to the leadership of your husband. 

A mere mention of the word submission can invoke unprecedented rancor, bigotry or even hostility from many women. It is almost a controversial, personal affront to their identity. But it needn’t be thus. And it certainly must not suffer such indignity and conceptual debate and misapprehension. 

While there are plenty of egotistic, arrogant men who still live in the medieval times of trying to put womankind down as inferior to them in some way, there are also plenty of women who believe the word submit is immediately tied to losing their identity and becoming the non-entities in the marriage. Peradventure a greater fear and not without motive is that submission can lead to abuse and unfair treatment sometimes. 

In veracity, submission neither means blind obedience or fake love on the part of the woman, nor that is she supposed to question nothing, give no suggestions, get pregnant and handle the kitchen. A wonderful message from the Bible actually recommends that: Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them (Colossians 3:18-19).

While the wives must consider the husbands as their heads, much like Christ himself was the head of the church- the love must be a two-way street where Christ was ready to give himself up for the cause.Husbands, at all times must protect and cherish their wives as such. Such a servant leadership is the base for relationship for submission of wife to the marriage and husband.

The loving, servant leadership role as emphasized upon a husband in traditional family structures, provides a perfect counterpoint and a good marker on how a good wife can make all the difference in a relationship, making it stronger. Finally, I’ve a beautiful, loving, industrious and faithful sister.

She is a nice role model and example for a family’s unity. She’s a great woman of all times who’s faithful and caring to her husband, children, relatives, friends and family. She’s a responsible woman who has done incredible duties of a real woman in her family. 

She is respectful, trustworthy, peaceful and visionary. She is a woman who detest trouble and jealousy. She is a professional super designer and decorator. She is a woman who hate senseless and misguided controversies, animosity and conflict in the society. She is a peacemaker with great leadership’s ability and she love unity, peace and prosperity in the society. 

She has a deep-seated humanity in her family. And She is a perfect example of a woman’s role in the family’s unity. She is call Achol Wech Kelei and she is featured in the above picture with her beloved great family. This is the kind of family’s unity we need in our societies in South Sudan.

Author: Betty Yom Mageer is a woman’s rights activist and can be reached via her email: bettyyom2009@gmail.com

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