For women seeking political office in South Sudan, the barrier may not be a lack of ambition or experience, but the cost of entering the race.
That concern emerged during the High-Level Government and Civil Society Dialogue on Advancing Women’s Rights Through Legal Reform, held under the Justice 4 Her Campaign and organised by Global Voices Organisation in partnership with Equality Now Regional Office.
Adeng Andrew Aleek, Undersecretary in the Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Welfare, said women seeking nominations were struggling to raise the reported three million South Sudanese pounds required for nomination fees.
He called for collective efforts to support women’s participation, warning that financial barriers could undermine the implementation of the 35 percent affirmative-action commitment.
“Our own issues cannot be talked upon by other people. It’s us women to talk about,” Aleek said.
The dialogue also examined the Anti-Gender-Based Violence Bill and Family Law Bill.
Gisma N. Loro, Second Legal Counsel at the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, said consultations on the Anti-GBV Bill had been conducted in eight states and two administrative areas.
The proposed law seeks stronger protection against sexual, physical and economic violence.
Aleek outlined a roadmap involving consensus-building, Cabinet consideration, parliamentary enactment, presidential assent and implementation.
Oyet Patrick Charles, Chair of the Civic Education Committee at the National Constitutional Review Commission, said legal commitments must translate into practical change, particularly the 35 percent representation provision.
“It should not just talk in papers or in books, but it should come to practicality,” he said.
Josephine Chandiru Drama, Executive Director of Global Voices Organisation, said women’s rights groups and civil society organisations face limited platforms and shrinking funding to engage government and monitor reforms.
Gen. James Dak, Director of the Special Protection Unit, called for stronger action to protect women’s rights, citing frameworks including the Maputo Protocol and UN Security Council Resolution 1325.
For women, the message from the dialogue was clear: legal rights matter only when they can be accessed, enforced and experienced in everyday life.
