Shortcomings of the 25% affirmative action for women in Southern Sudan

Dr. Jane Kani Edward

March 11, 2009 — Many changes have taken place in Southern Sudan since the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) on January 9, 2005 between the Government of the Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A). A semi autonomous government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) was formed in October 2005. This was followed by the formation of state governments, and the passing of the Interim Constitution of Southern Sudan (ICSS) by the Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly (SSLA) in 2005.

Recognizing the contributions made by women to both, the liberation movement and society at large, the signatories to the CPA allocated a 25% of positions at all levels of government to be filled by women. As a result, women were appointed to Sudan National Legislative Assembly (SNLA), SSLA, and State Legislative Assemblies (SLAs). Similarly, women were appointed to cabinet positions, while others were appointed to senior government positions and head of commissions. One of the break-through also was the creation of the Ministry of Gender Social Services and Religious Affairs headed by a woman.

However, despite all these changes and progress made so far, the lot of majority of women in Southern Sudan did not change very much. Nevertheless, and guarding against generalization, it is important to note that women in Southern Sudan do not form a homogenous group. Rather, they are differentiated based on their class, educational level, ethnic and regional differences, social status and other forms of social differences. These social differences position women differently in relation to the government institutions, the positions they occupy in these institutions, and the society at large.

On this women’s history month, I would like to focus specifically on the 25% affirmative action for women and how it failed to address the fundamental issues facing Southern Sudanese women. Some of the questions which need to be raised are what hinders women’s progress, despite the 25% “affirmative action”? And why there is limited representation of women particularly in decision-making positions?

My main argument here is that although the CPA and the ICSS guaranteed women’s participation in all level of government positions, however, the conceptualization of the 25% did not take into consideration women’s domestic roles and obligations which are rooted in the cultures and traditions of Southern Sudan. In other words, the logic behind the 25% affirmative action failed to take into consideration women’s reproductive roles and ignored the larger societal processes that shape women’s lives and experiences. Similarly, the crafters of the 25% provision did not reflected on, and take into consideration the culturally rooted perception and understanding of women’s position in the society, which tend to relegate women to the domestic realm.

It is still evident that the division of labor in Southern Sudan is gendered. The roles of women and men are usually defined in relations to the kind of work they do. Work that is done at home is always considered women’s work, while the work done outside home such office work, political participation, business and others carried out in public are considered men’s tasks. As such, boundaries between the domestic and public spheres are defined by the nature of the work that women and men perform. Crossing from one world to another is usually regarded as transgression from the norm.

Due to such an understanding of work, and despite the fact that women have joined the labor force, the heavy burden of household chores, fall solely on women’s shoulders. Women carry out almost all the work in the household which include food production and preparation, fetching water, firewood (particularly in rural areas) caring for children, the elderly and the sick, and other domestic tasks. This fact was clearly articulated by the late Dr. John Garang de Mabior in his speech during the signing of the CPA in Naivasha, Kenya on January 9, 2005. As he puts it, the “Sudanese rural woman, for example, gets up at five O’clock in the morning, to walk five kilometers, just to bring five gallons of water after five hour walk, spends another five hours working on the family farm, and five more hours making the family meal.”

The gendered division of labor, coupled with economic hardships facing many women in Southern Sudan represents a great challenge to women. This is particularly true for women living in urban areas who tend to pursue career-oriented positions, or support their families through salaried jobs. For instance, some women who are appointed to leadership positions find it difficult to balance between office work and domestic duties. Those who have the financial means – who are a minority – hired other women to carryout their domestic tasks. However, the majority of women who ventured into the world of salaried jobs as clerks, messengers, cleaners and other low-paying jobs to make ends meet find it difficult to handle their workload both outside the home and their household responsibilities. This is particularly true for women with young children.

However, despite the difficulties, these women continue to perform in both worlds just to sustain their families. In Juba, the capital city of the south, for instance, it is common to see women cleaners in SSLA and other government institutions sweeping the compound and mopping offices and hallways with their young children strapped on their back. It is also common to see some women who work as messengers bring their children to work place because of unavailability of public child care facilities or centers where they can take their children to.

As a result of such gendered division of labor which place heavy workload on women, and the failure to recognize its implication on women’s participation in government institutions, the 25% in my view did not benefit the majority of Southern Sudanese women as it had intended. Only few privileged women benefited from it, most of whom, either have grown up children who do not require their services, or have the financial capital to hire another woman to assume their domestic responsibilities, or unmarried women, who are supported by their extended family. Even though the 25% have allowed women to assume position in all levels of government, still women face double jeopardy in their lives.

Similarly, considering the culturally rooted perception and understanding of women’s position in the society, which tend to relegate women to the domestic realm, women in leadership positions experiences unequal treatment, discrimination and harassment in the work place. It is true that women in Sudan in general and Southern Sudan in particular, entered the public labor force early. However, people’s attitudes and perception towards women’s position continue to perceive women as belonging to the domestic realm. This is particularly true in relations to women who occupy decision-making positions. Due to such perceptions and attitudes, it is common for women in leadership positions to experience unequal treatment and discrimination in work place. Although the constitution calls for equal treatment and equal pay and entitlement for equal work between women and men, still many women are not treated equally with their male colleagues in the work place.

Therefore, for the 25% affirmative action to succeed and to benefit all women, it is important that all levels of government provide child care facilities whereby women with young children will be able to take their children when they go to work. Similarly, it is necessary that all Southern Sudanese – both women and men rethink the way in which they view work particularly domestic, as well as women’s position in society. It is further important that laws are enacted and enforced to protect women from unequal treatment, discrimination and harassment in work place.

Dr. Jane Kani Edward is the author of Sudanese Women Refugees: Transformations and future Imaginings. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. She can be reached at [email protected]