South Sudan: Illiteracy Denies Women Rights
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tyler arnot
Mar 10, 2009, 9:20:02 AM3/10/09
to South Sudan SF
Reprinted from The Sudan Tribune
Tuesday March 10, 2009
By Philip Thon Aleu
March 9, 2009 (BOR TOWN) – Organized groups of women marched to Bor
Town Freedom Square on Sunday March 8 as expected to mark the
International Women Day but few could express how their rights are
being violated. High rate of illiteracy in South Sudan, debits about
80% women, has always denied women opportunity to claim their rights.
Margaret Atim Oola, an Acholi working in Bor Town whose home is in
Juba, acknowledges that educated ladies are better than their
illiterate counterparts but traditional norms challenge this
emancipation.
"Illiterate women are more harassed than those educated. But as a
lady, each time I return home, I encounter some problems from in-laws
who say my husband has made a mistake to allow me working in a
distance place like Bor," she said.
CONFINED TO KITCHEN
There is no clear cut between cultures in South Sudan as far women
treatments. A woman is solely a man’s property primarily from marriage
procedure, domestic works and tight food taboo. Men have
responsibility to meet dowry prices and an over-all choice of spouse.
In Dinka, Mudari, Murle, Toposa and Nuer of South Sudan, men choose
ladies and meet the 30 or so cattle to bond marriages which are
occasionally forceful.
In most cases – particularly in Dinka, fathers have optimum rights to
choose spouses for their daughters. In Zandi, Acholi, Kaku and others
however, the dowry price is lower but women’s choices are
traditionally unacceptable. Women are confined to kitchen, Mrs. Atim
Oola says "but you have to appreciate the harass work which is a sign
of [tolerated] mistreatment" in domestic duties.
EDUCATION A BIG CHALLENGE
Girls and boys enroll equally to school at lower primary but fell
below 30% before upper classes. Mary Achol attributes this decline to
the fact that girls are entrusted with a lot of domestic work and the
traditional believes that educated girls become prostitutes.
"This is a very big challenge which the government must address," she
stressed. According to Achol, government should enacted legislations
for compulsory education for all children then leasing it to parents.
Fortunately enough, South Sudan has a campaign of ’take all children
to school’ though it is ineffective due to strongly rooted cultures
against women. In Jonglei State, there are only two girls’ primary
schools: Aguei and Anyidi in Bor County. Numerous other girls’ school
exists in South Sudan to address the situation.
Speaking at the poorly attended rally here on Sunday, SPLM women
league representative calls on the government to increase the 25%
representation. In the Government of Southern Sudan, influential
positions taken by women include Ministry of Labour and Public
Services headed by Awut Deng Acuil, Governor of Western Equartoria
State Jemme Nunu Kumba, Speaker of Eastern Equartoria State Sabina
Dario and SPLM Secretary for Southern Sector Anne Itto among others.
However, the representation does not address violation of women rights
deep in villages and specially the illiterate ones. More still, women
leaders have been accused of not addressing potential harassments
including force marriages, impregnations by teachers while at schools
and other sexual abuses. Instead, the women leaders say "we need
incentives to facilitate our work," colleagues in villages told the
Sudan Tribune on Saturday.
Representing a poem, Bor "A" girls claims ’Days are gone when girls
were denied education. Days are gone when girls were forced to early
marriages’ and so days are gone.
Asked what could be the way forward, Margaret Atim says: "I hope the
government hears my voice. Non-Governmental Organization and
Governmental Organizations should be extended to villages to address
the situation. We need change," she said.
Presence at the rally on Sunday in Bor Town includes Jonglei Governor
Kuol Manyang Juuk, Deputy Governor Hussein Mar Nyout, State ministers
and NGOs representatives. For the first time in such events, Murle
women group participated in the entertainment. Anyuak/Acholi, Nuer,
Dinka and women associations also performed traditional dances.
(ST)
Tuesday March 10, 2009
By Philip Thon Aleu
March 9, 2009 (BOR TOWN) – Organized groups of women marched to Bor
Town Freedom Square on Sunday March 8 as expected to mark the
International Women Day but few could express how their rights are
being violated. High rate of illiteracy in South Sudan, debits about
80% women, has always denied women opportunity to claim their rights.
Margaret Atim Oola, an Acholi working in Bor Town whose home is in
Juba, acknowledges that educated ladies are better than their
illiterate counterparts but traditional norms challenge this
emancipation.
"Illiterate women are more harassed than those educated. But as a
lady, each time I return home, I encounter some problems from in-laws
who say my husband has made a mistake to allow me working in a
distance place like Bor," she said.
CONFINED TO KITCHEN
There is no clear cut between cultures in South Sudan as far women
treatments. A woman is solely a man’s property primarily from marriage
procedure, domestic works and tight food taboo. Men have
responsibility to meet dowry prices and an over-all choice of spouse.
In Dinka, Mudari, Murle, Toposa and Nuer of South Sudan, men choose
ladies and meet the 30 or so cattle to bond marriages which are
occasionally forceful.
In most cases – particularly in Dinka, fathers have optimum rights to
choose spouses for their daughters. In Zandi, Acholi, Kaku and others
however, the dowry price is lower but women’s choices are
traditionally unacceptable. Women are confined to kitchen, Mrs. Atim
Oola says "but you have to appreciate the harass work which is a sign
of [tolerated] mistreatment" in domestic duties.
EDUCATION A BIG CHALLENGE
Girls and boys enroll equally to school at lower primary but fell
below 30% before upper classes. Mary Achol attributes this decline to
the fact that girls are entrusted with a lot of domestic work and the
traditional believes that educated girls become prostitutes.
"This is a very big challenge which the government must address," she
stressed. According to Achol, government should enacted legislations
for compulsory education for all children then leasing it to parents.
Fortunately enough, South Sudan has a campaign of ’take all children
to school’ though it is ineffective due to strongly rooted cultures
against women. In Jonglei State, there are only two girls’ primary
schools: Aguei and Anyidi in Bor County. Numerous other girls’ school
exists in South Sudan to address the situation.
Speaking at the poorly attended rally here on Sunday, SPLM women
league representative calls on the government to increase the 25%
representation. In the Government of Southern Sudan, influential
positions taken by women include Ministry of Labour and Public
Services headed by Awut Deng Acuil, Governor of Western Equartoria
State Jemme Nunu Kumba, Speaker of Eastern Equartoria State Sabina
Dario and SPLM Secretary for Southern Sector Anne Itto among others.
However, the representation does not address violation of women rights
deep in villages and specially the illiterate ones. More still, women
leaders have been accused of not addressing potential harassments
including force marriages, impregnations by teachers while at schools
and other sexual abuses. Instead, the women leaders say "we need
incentives to facilitate our work," colleagues in villages told the
Sudan Tribune on Saturday.
Representing a poem, Bor "A" girls claims ’Days are gone when girls
were denied education. Days are gone when girls were forced to early
marriages’ and so days are gone.
Asked what could be the way forward, Margaret Atim says: "I hope the
government hears my voice. Non-Governmental Organization and
Governmental Organizations should be extended to villages to address
the situation. We need change," she said.
Presence at the rally on Sunday in Bor Town includes Jonglei Governor
Kuol Manyang Juuk, Deputy Governor Hussein Mar Nyout, State ministers
and NGOs representatives. For the first time in such events, Murle
women group participated in the entertainment. Anyuak/Acholi, Nuer,
Dinka and women associations also performed traditional dances.
(ST)
tyler arnot
Mar 10, 2009, 9:33:03 AM3/10/09
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