Female opposition leader shines spotlight on plight of South Sudan women

March 8, 2014 (ADDIS ABABA) – A senior female opposition woman leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) has called for greater focus on the ongoing plight of hundreds of thousands of vulnerable South Sudanese women.

Angelina Teny, the wife of former vice-president turned rebel leader, Riek Machar, said women across South Sudan are facing an appalling situation following the outbreak of violence on 15 December violence, calling on women across the globe to draw attention to their plight as they mark International Women’s Day on 8 March.

“I do recognise the responsibility of women being the voice of the voiceless and therefore I call on them to exercise such moral responsibility in support of and solidarity with women in South Sudan after the violence,” Teny said in a statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Saturday, urging the international community to “condemn the genocide taking place in South Sudan”.

She also called on work bodies to apply greater pressure on the Ugandan army (UPDF), which is currently providing military support to the South Sudanese government, to withdraw from the country.

Teny, who is participating peace talks in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa and once served as a state minister of petroleum in Sudan, also called on other female leaders within the United Nations and the African Union to use their influence in ensuring a peaceful resolution to the three-month-old conflict in the young country.

She further urged international media to rise to their responsibilities to let the world know about the current situation in the country.

According to UN reports, at least one million people, mostly women and children, are displaced and living in dire conditions in South Sudan in the aftermath of the mid-December violence.

(ST)