The new Republic of South Sudan is the UN’s 193rd country and Africa’s 54th. While there is ample reason to rejoice the birth of this, the world’s newest nation, there is also cause for concern.
As I contemplate the South’s secession, I find my thoughts returning to my current job as Legal Advocate for domestic violence survivors. Every day I help survivors navigate the sometimes-treacherous and always-complicated legal system and so I relate the new nation to the following analogy.
Market Day
With the stretch of the imagination one can liken the split between North and South to a domestic violence divorce: the North is the abusive partner while the South is the victim and the oil fields are the children. The North relinquishes power and possession because of the pressure from the international community holding Bashir’s government accountable to the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement. The South celebrates new found freedom and independence – finally out from under the terror and control of the North. Abyei and border regions are relatively safe within the new country, but just like children in a DV divorce, they become the objects the North wants for its own purposes. And likely, objects that the North will pursue possessing some way, somehow, down the road.
Just like a DV divorce separation does not equate permanent safety or freedom, but requires constant vigilance and planning for future acts of aggression and violence.
Sisters in Their Tea Shop
The Republic of South Sudan’s Minister of Gender, Child and Social Welfare, Agnes Lasuba, talks candidly about the precariousness of a new nation and the lives of the women of South Sudan. She emphasizes women’s role in the liberation of their country and the tremendous sacrifices they endured to make their country their own. She also cites the critical component of any new nation’s health: women’s active involvement in politics and development of their country.
“Women face many challenges, such as poverty, low literacy rates, maternal mortality and domestic violence. For women to move on, they need economic empowerment, because a large percentage of them live in poverty. They need political empowerment to speak on behalf of women. They need civic education to be more aware of national and state issues. On top of this, some men perceive gender equality as if it is a women’s issue. We are trying to work hard to recruit men to be ambassadors on gender. This is because if gender and human rights are not implemented and women and girls are treated in the traditional way — where 13- or 14-year-old girls are married and are not given opportunities to education and employment, for instance — South Sudan will remain underdeveloped. Therefore, women should play a key role in nation building.”
South Sudanese Women Celebrating
I was in South Sudan during the summer of 2010 while the lead up to the Referendum in January 2011 was occurring. I was told countless times by the women I worked with how profoundly they hoped for a peaceful secession and a peaceful nation. I would like to take a moment to acknowledge the (relative) fulfillment of their wishes. Brava to the brave women of South Sudan! Bravo to the courageous men of South Sudan! We in the international community applaud your heroic efforts to achieve freedom and autonomy. We will continue our activism for your struggles and celebrate your triumphs throughout your development.
You can learn more about how women in Southern Sudan played a significant role in achieving independence in the following UN video: