Where Are We Mr Chairperson? An Urgent Call for Gender Inclusivity and Women Representation in TEYA, Juba Executive Office
Amer Mayen Dhieu
By Amer Mayen Dhieu, Brisbane, Australia
Saturday, 8 January 2022 (PW) — Dear TEYA Executive Office, Juba, I hope this position paper finds you well at your respective positions within Twi East Youth Association (TEYA), Juba city. First, I would like to acknowledge the effort you have put into ensuring that our community have an organising body in the TEYA Juba office, looking after the welfare of our Twi Citizens, men and women alike. Secondly, I would like to thank the Nine-Men Executive Committee of TEYA, those who have agreed to volunteer their time to serve this Twi community we all love and adore.
Whilst this position paper may have my name as the author, please kindly know that I am writing on behalf of your daughters: born and unborn ones. Additionally, I am writing on behalf of the most vital voices and abled leadership of women and girls within the Twi East Community worldwide. Unfortunately, the absence of female members in your executive team made us feel forgotten, written off, and completely invisible in Juba. Where are we Mr. Chairperson, Bäny Garang Atem Ayiik? In the kitchen preparing tea for the Nine-Men Executive Committee of TEYA.
This morning, while I was crawling down my Facebook Newsfeed, I came across a sacrilegious photo of the Nine-Men Executive Committee of TEYA, proudly shared and equally celebrated by many other men. At first, the image reminded me of a terrible moment in the gender history of North America when the world woke up to a photo of former President Donald Trump signing women-related Executive Order with seven other men as witnesses. Certainly, this picture of the Nine-Men Executive Committee of TEYA is disturbingly nauseating. It is incredibly haunting, deeply disappointing, and extremely insulting enough to be labelled as a critical assault on the agency and the space of thousands of Twi East female citizens in Juba city.
There are two main reasons why this haunting photo of the Nine-Men Executive Committee of TEYA feels so appalling. First, the picture is an ambiguous proof of a patriarchal system and society where men hold the position of power and women are primarily excluded. Secondly, the photo is not only a demonstration but also a public approval, of a stereotype that leadership and decision-making exclusively belong to men. Third, a public image of the Nine-Men Executive Committee of TEYA symbolizes a smouldering ‘Makarawiil’ that is bulldozing and burying the agency, the voices and the civic space of girls and women of the Twi East Community.
Despite being bred and nurtured in this community, we feel invisible and excluded, with our position and voice and agency being undervalued and buried. Our gender representation and participation in leadership do not matter because a patriarchal system has excluded us from the TEYA leadership position. The photo did not only brazenly attack the rights of Twi women and girls, but it has also written them off from the community. We feel robbed of something beautiful, of something valuable, and of something critically important to the growth and prosperity of Twi East Community in Juba and that is a chance to serve your community in a leadership position.
It is not my wish that the tone of this paper would sound aggressive to some readers, and I do apologise in advance if it comes through as such. I prefer it to be a gentle reminder not only to the TEYA office in Juba but also to the rest of the TEYA offices around the globe, of the critical influence and harmful messages that go across when we ignore the position of women and the agenda of women representation and participation in communal leadership. Failure to include women in top leadership affirms some destructive gender norms and cultural practices that we should be discouraging in the modern Twi Dinka community. Such public misrepresentation misinforms our female citizens that it is normal for women not to get involved in ‘men’s business’: Leadership. Once we condone and accept their reluctance to get involved, we surrender our community to a flawed social system, that would eventually prevent Twi aspiring young women from fulfilling their true and full potential in our society.
To the people who think that this is my daily feminist shenanigans or high-spirited women’s rights advocacy, this is more than Western gender terms. I was first appointed to the secretary position in the TEYA office in Queensland at the age of 19 or 20 many years ago. At first, I didn’t receive this new development very well because I struggled to speak publicly. And in hindsight, I didn’t use the leadership opportunity very well. Mostly, I used to distribute drinking water, pick littering, and clean up after nearly every event because I innocently thought that was my role (as a woman amongst men) since that was what I grew up witnessing other women doing in public events. As I gained more exposure and experiences during my second term, I started to speak, question, and actively participate in leadership and decision-making. One fine evening, I courageously strolled into a group of Nine-Men playing chess game after the event and requested for their idle men power to help remove chairs. They complied and offered their men power.
That courage was borne out of the fact that I was given a space within my community to grow, to develop and to become a leader in my own right. Regardless of what education has added, I owe my contemporary confidence, voice and zeal to being part of TEYA leadership in Queensland, Australia. Our communal associations carry more power to inspire and empower women when used appropriately and inclusively. It is my sincere hope that sharing this experience will make you understand why I am writing this paper. I experienced something beautiful and powerful because I was valued and included in the leadership of my community. Mr Chairperson and your executive committee, I would be grateful if you could take the lead and mould other promising young Twi girls and Women in Juba by including women and girls in your Nine-Men Executive Committee of TEYA in Juba.
Lastly, for those who will rush to the outdated and tired excuse of lack of ‘female contestants’ during the campaign, The late Twi East Legendary Singer, Jima Aleer Aguer (Thondit-ë-Canberra), once proclaimed that “Baany ë Door acinic campaign”. Our contemporary process of obtaining leadership is patriarchal because the system is not women-friendly. The method of campaigning for a leadership position is too hostile to accommodate feminine attributes. While it might be suitable for some women, it is not socially comfortable for others. There are alternative methodologies to promote gender inclusivity in the modern Twi Dinka Community. One of these schemes would be to allocate certain positions specifically for women to contest among themselves. This method can encourage young girls and women to actively participate in community leadership.
Bäny Garang Atem Ayiik, I look forward to hearing from your Nine-Men Executive Committee of TEYA. I will warmly welcome any chance or due attention given to this position paper from the womenfolk of the Twi community. Should you require more discussion on this topic, kindly feel free to contact me on my email below or reach me through my Facebook messenger.
Best regards and happy, prosperous New Year to Twi Community worldwide.
The author, Amer Mayen Dhieu, is the Founder and Executive Director of ChildBride Solidarity (CBS), a South Sudan-based women-led (WRO) and rights organization (WRO) that advocates for Gender Rights and Women Empowerment in South Sudan, and the co-founder for the Twic East Girls Scholarship Program (TEGSP). She received her Bachelor Degree in Psychology and Human Services from the Christian Heritage College in Brisbane, and her Masters of International Relations, majoring in International Security and Human Rights, from Griffith University in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Ms. Amer is currently pursuing her second master’s degree in Gender and Women Studies at Flinders University, Australia. She can be reached via her email: mayendhieu90@gmail.com.
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