Women, Youth advocate for non-violent elections

By Julius N. Uma

April 7, 2010 (JUBA) — With less than a week to the much-anticipated general elections, an alliance of women and youth yesterday held an election rally to not only sensitize voters on the importance of free, fair and no-violent elections, but further drummed support for women contestants from across Sudan.

The 2010 election rally, organized by United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) in collaboration with South Sudan Youth Parliament (SSYP) and the Women’s Association of Juba University, was funded by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Election Basket Fund.

While giving a keynote address yesterday, UNIFEM’s Regional Director, Mrs. Meryam Aslan fully acknowledged the tremendous role often played women in nation building, saying they need support, if they are to realize their dreams.

“In order to fully realize democratic governance within a country, women must be equally represented in decision making processes as well as at all levels. This is a positive step towards nation building,” Mrs Aslan said.

Over the years, it has been noted that women and the youth from across South Sudan have reportedly been denied their rights to political participation, yet their 25% affirmative action remains a constitutional mandate stipulated in its Interim Constitution.

Thus the 2010 election rally, which was based on the theme, “Promotion of Equal Representation for all: Support her! Vote for her! Elect her!” sought to recognize women and the youth, majority of who appear not to be well represented in the electoral process.

Meanwhile, Regina Ossa Lullo, the Director General for Gender and Child Welfare in the Ministry of Gender, Social Welfare and Religious Affairs, decried the high levels of gender-based violence cases in homes, saying women need to equipped with legal knowledge and support to enable them tackle these problems.

She further cited issues such as South Sudan’s high levels of maternal health mortality rates, rising cases of food insecurity, high illiteracy rate levels, unemployment and economic empowerment as some of the major challenges facing women, something, which she said needed immediate redress from government and other stakeholders.

Buay Keake, the Speaker of South Sudan Youth Parliament also reiterated the roles played by both women and the youth. He further expressed concern over the few numbers of youth and women being represented in Parliament and the various Payams and Bomas.

“Since unequal representation is undemocratic, let us all strongly advocate for balanced representation that will pave way for good governance in our country,” the Youth Speaker remarked.

It should, however, be noted that since July 2009, UNIFEM has been working to help empower and train female candidates in the run-up to these elections. In addition, the organization has also been instrumental in not only educating, but also mobilizing female voters to participate in the polls.

“Women represent almost half of the population of the south. Their participation in politics and government will encourage a brighter future for all of Sudan’s peoples,” Hodan Addou, UNIFEM Sudan County Director said yesterday.

Note that 54.7% of females reportedly registered for various elective positions in South Sudan as compared to 45.3% of their male counterparts, according to information obtained from Southern Sudan Elections High Committee.

Also present at the one-day event held in the Juba-based Nyakuron Cultural Center were Dr. Namata Majeks Walker, UNIFEM’s Gender and Election Advisor, Joseph Lodiong from UNMIS’s department of the UN Standard of Conduct Awareness, Ruth Kibiki, a Gender Advisor at UNMIS, religious leaders, officials from other government departments, civil society organizations, South Sudan Elections High Committee officials, university students, among others.

(ST)