IWD 2021: The role of women in conflict resolution in South Sudan
Peter Wek Mabioordit, the author, is a South Sudanese poet and researcher. His areas of interest include business administration, women empowerment, poverty alleviation, cultural diversity and peaceful coexistence in the society
By Peter Wek Mabiordit, Juba, South Sudan
Monday, March 08, 2021 (PW) — Conflicts are inevitable events in human life. They’re caused by misunderstandings or competition for wealth and power. Insituations of conflicts, women’s role in peacebuilding cannot be out- ruled. Dialogue as a method of conflict resolution is applied to heal wounds in the hearts of foes and repair broken bonds of love and coexistence in the society.
At the family level, women can participate fully in solving disputes when given the chance. A family is the backbone of any generation and can only be united under good leadership. No woman in her right senses would want her family to be torn apart by hatred and unnecessary divisions.
The main goal of conflict resolution is not to decide which person is right or wrong but to solve the problems at hand and prevent future conflicts. At the international level, successful peacebuilding activities by women create an environment supportive of self-sustaining, durable peace; create rule of law mechanisms; integrate civil society and address structural and underlying issues.
One study conducted by American researchers in 2018 found that substantial inclusion of women and civil society groups in peace negotiations makes the resulting agreement 64 percent less likely to fail, and according to another study, 35 percent more likely to last at least fifteen years. Several analyses also suggest that higher levels of gender equity are associated with a lower propensity for conflict, both between and within different states. Despite growing international recognition of women’s role in security, their representation in peace and security process has lagged.
South Sudan, the earth’s newest nation needs to do more in order to encourage women’s participation in conflict resolution. There’s a need to eradicate gender based violence and open doors to education. Early marriage as one of gender based violence is a practice which must be dealt with. To ensure participation of women in the activities of peace, all world governments and NGOS should;1) Ensure that women play a key role in the design and implementation of post-conflict resolution and peaceful activities.
Women’s role in the design and implementation of post conflict resolution and peaceful activities is realized when they’re involved in decision making and execution of peace projects which are a step towards prevention and resolution of the conflict itself.
Women’s groups like South Sudan Women’s Network for Peace should be allowed to participate in the design and implementation of post conflict resolution. A mother is the one who gives birth to children and it’s only her who can understand the gravity of disagreement among her children.
2) Support and strengthen women’s organizations in their peacebuilding efforts by providing adequate and sustained financial and technical support.
As noted above, women’s contribution in peacebuilding cannot be overlooked. They need all kinds of support in their peacebuilding efforts because they cannot do it alone. Welfare organizations should donate money to women’s peace groups and provide them with technical support such as capacitybuilding in areas of conflict resolution.
3) End impunity and ensure redress of crimes committed against women in violent conflict, enforce and bring to justice culprits involved in rape as a war crime.
Over the last few months, there had been reports of violence against women which included rape and killings at some cases. All these can be stopped if the concerned authorities shun all kinds of gender based violence, enforce and bring to justice culprits involved in rape as a war crime. To reduce rape cases, women should be aware of their rights and duties in the society. Women have a right to life, education, love and affection. Women should dress decently and avoid moving through dark corners at wrong hours because such places are the main hideouts of criminals.
4) Establish mechanisms for enforcing and monitoring international instruments for the protection of women’s rights in post-conflict.
Such mechanisms include forming committees and empowering women’s rights groups. The work of the committees is to monitor the level of participation of women in advocating for their rights and the feedback they get from the concerned authorities when they air out their opinions and grievances; whether it’s positive or negative.
Monitoring international instruments for the protection of women’s rights in post conflict also includes the severity of punishment given by the government of a given state to culprits of rape, whether it’s up to international standard or not.
Conclusively, women’s participation in conflict resolution is a vital step towards gender equity and fairness. It’s our collective role to ensure their participation at all levels of dialogue because their contributions cannot be ignored.
Wek Mabiordit is a South Sudanese poet and researcher. His areas of interest include business administration, women empowerment, poverty alleviation, public health, cultural diversity and peaceful coexistence. For comments, reach him via his email:wekmabior@gmail.com
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