#Mamarasakit: End gender-based violence against women in South Sudan
5 min read
Betty Yom Mageer
By Betty Yom Mageer, Nairobi, Kenya
Tuesday, September 29, 2020 (PW) — There’re many burning issues facing women in families in South Sudan and globally. Women in South Sudan and the entire planet face many difficult issues in families. Moreover, they’rethe ones who suffer the most compare to their male counterparts when it comes to gender-based violence in families in South Sudan and worldwide. In South Sudan in particular, many women face extreme gender-based violence in families: The gender-based violence is rampant in South Sudan and it is one of the burning issue that is affecting women in our country in many families. Many women are subjected to gender-based violence in South Sudan and they’ve been affected deeply psychologically and emotionally. яндекс
There’re many men in our country who always beat their wives mercilessly and dangerously without deciding to solve disputes amicably in the families. Such men always prefer to solve marriages’ problems violently instead of solving problems amicably. Furthermore, the gender-based violence is not a new thing in South Sudan and it has existed for centuries. In South Sudan many girls and women have consistently been subjected to gender-based violence (GBV). Whether it is physical assault, forced matrimony, deniability of resources, sexual assault, violent rape and psychological abuse. Moreover, gender-based violence is common throughout the entire country and all the three regions and sixty-four tribes practiced it.
Gender-based violence is deeply rooted in the discriminatory culture and social norms in South Sudan. Be it in the social, political and economic fields of life. In South Sudan, gender-based violence is used as a cultural tactic to victimize, intimidate, silent and humiliate women in South Sudan. And ironically, our country seems to have compatibility and acceptability with gender-based violence and it is only a fewvoices that condemn it across our nation. Additionally, gender-based violence is a complete dehumanization and victimization against womankind in South Sudan and globally. And according to many reports, surveys, assessments and human rights watch.
Many women across South Sudan have been persistently subjected to inhuman gender-based violence throughout the decades of civil wars and it is ongoing as I speak right now. It is a man-made social crisis in our country. It is a major social problem and if South Sudan will continue to deliberately view it with willful ignorance, deniability and pretend that nothing is affecting women; then definitely, it’ll deeply undermine social fabric and affect innocent women and girls in our motherland. It’ll have a far reaching, endless effects on the future generations. It’ll affect children in many families where gender-based violence is a daily action.
Statistics and independent bodies have again and again stressed that gender-based violence doesn’t only affect women and girls only. It also affects male counterparts psychologically and physiologically. When marriages fall apart as a result of gender-based violence; it affects all family’s members without distinction in one way or another. Moreover, gender-based violence is the quickest path of destroying marriages on earth. Gender-based violence is the greatest killer of trust, unity, love, friendship and faithfulness in families. Furthermore, in my equitable opinion, gender-based violence should be view as a threat against national security and social fabric in South Sudan.
The government need to declares gender-based violence as athreat against peaceful families and is endangering social fabric. And after the declaration, the government need to come up with tough penalties against the perpetrators of this inhuman practice that undermine the dignity and right to safety of womenfolk in South Sudan. The perpetrators of gender-based violence are not supposed to get away with the crime of gender-based violence they’ve committed with impunity against innocent women and girls in South Sudan. After the criminalization, then gender-based violence’s perpetrators should be taken to the court of lawand justice be serve to the innocent victims of this despicable act. It’ll send a strong message to those who brutally victimize women and girls in the country that it’s no longer a business as usual and that things are falling apart and there’s punishment in the court of law which is only receive by the perpetrators of gender-based violence.
Additionally, there’re many cases of gender-based violence in South Sudan and around the world. But during this time of coronavirus pandemic, there is a huge increase in gender-based violence in many nations around the globe. Many innocent girls and women are suffering silently in South Sudan and other countries where there’re no effective laws and policies against GBV. They suffer psychologically and emotionally without any assistance from authorities and that is very unfortunate indeed. They should not suffer in distress helplessly when they should be supported by their countries and governments. Finally, women and girls are the main targets and victims of GBV in South Sudan.
And in order to end the GBV; We need to facilitate conversations amongst men, women, boys and girls at the family and national levels. We need to reinforce excellent and inclusive dialogues and relationships between men and women. We need to carry out serious public awareness, sensitization and condemnation that is aimed at ending the culture of GBV in South Sudan. We need to preach to the society that women and men are not enemies. And this need a cooperation of the country, leaders, government and international human rights’ actors to end GBV. We also need our government in South Sudan to criminalize GBV in our transitional constitution and create heavy penalty against it in order to safeguard women and girls’ safety in many families in South Sudan. And together we’ll have GBV-free South Sudan.
The author, Betty Yom Mageer, is a women rights activist and can reached via her email: bettyyom2009@gmail.com
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