Hope, Pain & Patience

The Lives of Women in South Sudan

By Friederike Bubenzer, Orly Stern

Jacana Media (Pty) Ltd

Copyright © 2011 The Institute for Justice and Reconciliation
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-920196-36-3

Contents

Foreword,
Acknowledgements Francis M. Deng,
Introduction,
Acronyms,
South Sudan chronology 1820–2011,
1 ‘This is how marriage happens sometimes’: Women and marriage in South Sudan Orly Stern,
2 ‘We were all soldiers’: Female combatants in South Sudan’s civil war Lydia Stone,
3 ‘Sibu ana, sibu ana’ (‘leave me, leave me’): Survivors of sexual violence in South Sudan Anyieth M. D’Awol,
4 ‘If you can’t use your hands to make a living …’: Female sex workers in Juba, South Sudan Jolien Veldwijk and Cathy Groenendijk,
5 Women and HIV/AIDS in South Sudan Nada Mustafa Ali,
6 ‘I cannot give my children what they need’: The voices of mothers in South Sudan Jolien Veldwijk,
7 Taking on new challenges: South Sudanese women in service delivery Jane Namadi,
8 ‘In power without power’: Women in politics and leadership positions in South Sudan Asha Arabi,
9 ‘I was once lost’: South Sudanese women in the diaspora Orly Stern,
About the authors,

CHAPTER 1

‘This is how marriage happens sometimes’: Women and marriage in South Sudan

Orly Stern

Perhaps more than any other aspect of life in South Sudan, it is marriage that shapes a woman’s experiences, her status and her responsibilities. Marriage is one of the central institutions shaping society, binding families and communities, and ensuring continuity of the South Sudanese way of life and culture. To understand all the other facets of women’s lives in South Sudan, it is necessary to understand the pivotal role that the institution of marriage plays, the various practices that relate to it and some of the changes it has undergone as a result of the social upheaval created by the war.

South Sudanese society is strongly traditional and deeply patriarchal, and this is clearly evident in the institution of marriage. The roles and positions of both men and women within a marriage are clearly defined and strictly enforced: men are the heads of households, holding positions of authority within their families; women are subservient to their husbands, with their roles focused on the home and the rearing of children. While not equal, this division of roles and responsibilities was intended to ensure a clear allocation of tasks, and to guarantee that all were taken care of, protected and supported. In practice, the system often leaves women extremely vulnerable, with little recourse in cases of abuse or when husbands fail in their duties of support and protection.

As with all aspects of life in South Sudan, the civil wars (1955–1972 and 1983–2005) impacted significantly on the institution of marriage. Rapidly changing circumstances and resulting shifts in gender dynamics affected marriages, and the parts that women and men played within them. While there were some very positive changes for women, arising from the increased independence and responsibilities that they took on during the war, there were also negative developments, such as rising levels of domestic violence, and an increase in early marriages arranged by impoverished families seeking to accrue bride price.

In the current post-conflict period, when so many aspects of life in South Sudan are in transition, and South Sudanese people are being exposed to so many new influences, the institution of marriage, too, is shifting and adapting. This period