UK Aid Champions Empowerment Of South Sudanese Women Leaders
On Monday 11 March, British Ambassador Alastair McPhail and Head of the UK Department for International Development in South Sudan, Elizabeth Carriere, were joined by influential South Sudanese women leaders for a reflection on the challenges and opportunities that independence has presented. 13 March 2013 Elizabeth Carriere delivered a powerful address to the audience, from which the Embassy is pleased to present an extract: “South Sudan’s independence on 9 July 2011 opened up opportunities for the political, economic and social empowerment of women. Most saw this as a new dawn - women and men, many of whom who had been brutalised by decades of war and marginalisation, would together build their new nation. “For women and girls, this hope reflected in the Transitional Constitution, in new legislation, and in new rights and freedoms for all. “For example, there is a quota 25% of women in all aspects of the public service, including 30% in the judiciary. Girls and women are guaranteed the right to consent to marriage. There is an alternative education system that allows pregnant girls and mothers, and others who have not finished their education, to continue their schooling. “There are many well educated and articulate women, in all walks of life: in government, in the army, and in communities. I am always struck when I travel to the countryside outside Juba how strong and vocal women are: they know what they want, and they have a vision for their families and communities. I see smart girls in their school uniforms, hoping to complete their education and be part of building the bright promise of their new nation. “But let’s be real: the potential is great, but too many of the facts and statistics are depressing. Let me pose some questions, particularly those relating to the new generation of young people: “What message is given to girls when only 12% of teachers are women? How many of those girls will grow up expecting to be taken out of school early, ‘sold’ for a dowry into marriages they don’t want to be in (and in which they are often brutalised and mistreated – a study shows that violence by a husband against a wife is often tolerated as a normal part of married life), and having babies before they are ready – and dying young in childbirth. 48% of “South Sudanese girls are married between the ages of 15 and 19 – some when they are only 12. The statistic that a girl in South Sudan has a greater chance of dying in childbirth than finishing school says something frightening about the prospects for girls in this country. “In the context of ongoing instability and conflict, women and girls are often subjected to violence, including rape, when conflict happens. And they are often captured and kidnapped during cattle raiding and interethnic conflict. There are also escalating cases of impunity by security personnel who commit rape and other atrocities. “Poverty and marginalisation make the problems worse. Girls and women and men and boys face poverty, lack of education and high levels of illiteracy (60% for girls, 40 % for boys and more than 80% for women). But girls and women have a particularly hard time when they are also marginalised socially, culturally, legally, politically and economically. What devastating effect is this having on the opportunities for girls and women when they are mistreated, their opportunities are taken from them, and they are disempowered? “While the government can, and is trying, to do much to address this, there are other realities – some of them very sensitive to address – such as harmful traditional and cultural practices and lack of human rights awareness - which negatively impact on the day to day lives of women, limiting their self-esteem, their education, their health and ability to actively participate in their communities and in national development. At the same time, we should acknowledge that these issues are being paid attention to – more and more. It is possible to make a difference. “As an example, I want to focus on three areas of support that the UK is providing: our work on girl’s education, our support for the health pooled fund and our innovative work on access to justice. “In education, the girls’ education programme will help 200,000 girls. It will try to get more girls into school and to keep them there. We are looking at a variety of innovative mechanisms as part of this programme, including tracking attendance (so the ministry of education knows when girls are going to school), capitation grants to support girls friendly school and cash transfers for families who keep their girls in school. But we know that the key will be to start to transform attitudes – and engaging with communities on why educating girls is a good investment for the community will be key to that. “In health, the health pooled fund will cover 6 of the 10 states in South Sudan. Gender specific results include. It will help to reduce maternal mortality, by ensuring that 62,400 women having at least four antenatal visits and that they receive at least 2 doses of intermittent presumptive treatment of malaria as part of their antenatal care. In addition 31,200 women will be helped to deliver in a health facility with a skilled birth attendance. As in education, we are able to provide practical support, but real success will depend on progress with the process of changing traditional practices. “Our new access to justice programme will help 250,000 women and girls to get improved access to justice. We will use a variety of approaches – bringing the formal courts closer to the people with mobile courts, whilst also understanding and enhancing traditional systems which most people use. Community mediation and paralegal services will be used to facilitate access to the criminal justice as well as customary courts. We see this as an opportunity to build and strengthen citizen’s empowerment and social accountability. “As I close, I want to leave you with this thought… the limitation of freedom and rights and potential of girls and women, who make up a large proportion of South Sudan’s population - will limit the rights, freedom and potential of the new nation – unless this is addressed substantially. “Finally, let me say that the UK is committed to continuing to work through our programmes, with research and advocacy groups, with national and international agencies, and particularly with government to make the lives of women and girls better in South Sudan; and to make South Sudan better because of the contributions of its amazing women and girls.” -END- Posted in: Foreign Relations, Foreign Aid/Assistance, Press Releases -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. 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