AMPLIFYING WOMEN’S VOICES
Two CREW staff and one board member at Eye Radio in Juba during a talkshow on violation of women’s rights in South Sudan.
After decades of war and in the wake of recent conflict, South Sudan has seen a deterioration in the rule of law translating into rampant looting, targeted and ethnic killings, as well as a spread in hunger, diseases and its related deaths, prompting citizens to seek refuge in neighboring towns and countries and thousands internally displaced with women and children bearing the brunt of the violence in its after effects.
AT Eye Radio discussing cultural norms in relation to implementation of women’s rights.
CREW uses its platform to amplify the voice of those who suffer these injustices by advocating and raising awareness on issues of women and children’s rights on radio and other media outlets as well as on social media platforms (Facebook: Crown The Woman-South Sudan & Twitter: @CrownTheWoman)
One CREW staff at Miraya FM during a talkshow on mentorship and girl child education.
We also engage with likeminded institutions to ensure key issues affecting women and children are highlighted as part of our efforts at mainstreaming gender and paving way for meaningful gender equality and equity in South Sudan.
- Published in Events, Human Rights
CELEBRATING THE YOUNGER WOMAN
Crown The Woman-South Sudan (CREW) joined the rest of the world to celebrate International Women’s Day through her mentorship program in schools. Since Women’s Day is only a one day affair 8th March, CREW decided to extend the celebration to one week so as to spend more time with their younger sisters in three different schools through a mentorship program under the them “I AM MY SISTER’S KEEPER”. Teenage pregnancy was the key topic
Busulwa addressing girls at Promised Land Secondary School.
To give the students and pupils a clearer understanding of the matter, CREW brought in Mr. Busulwa Gabriel Walta; a Ugandan social change film maker who is also an advocate against child marriage and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Mr. Busulwa screened his 18minute film “AKELLO”. Akello is about teenage pregnancy; in the movie, a schoolgirl is introduced to an older man by her friend, out of peer pressure she accepts financial gains from the older man in exchange for her body. she later gets pregnant and is sent away from home by her mother. left with no option, she goes to live with the man responsible for her pregnancy. while staying with him she undergoes domestic violence and eventually runs to her maternal uncle who takes her in and gives her a second chance to go back to school a few months after she gives birth and later reconciled her with her mother.
Pupils at Dr. John Garang Primary School watching Akello
with this movie, Mr. Busulwa was able to reach out to 288 girls in only 3 schools (two secondary schools and one primary school) during his 5days stay in Juba due to the fact that he arrived in Juba on Monday and Friday of that same week was a public holiday (National Prayer Day). He also had the chance to go to two radio stations (Miraya and Radio One FM) alongside two CREW team members to share the impact of his film in the schools that he visited. Screening the film gave a fresh twist to our usual mentorship sessions that are characterized by conversations between CREW and the students/pupils.
Busulwa with two CREW members at Miraya FM.
Watching the girls get so emotional during the film was quite a moment for all of us. After watching the film, the girls had a rich discussion with Mr. Busulwa and the CREW team where some girls shared similar personal experiences at the end of which they made a commitment to stay in school as their bold decision for change. CREW has pledged to screen this film every school she conducts her mentorship in.
Apart from Mr. Busulwa, Dr. Ayak Chol Deng was also present at the program, she too shared her experiences with the girls and encouraged them to stay in school as school is the only insurance a woman can have. Dr. Ayak promised to come back and share tips on menstrual hygiene with girls.
After a mentorship session at Don Bosco Secondary School
As the CREW Team we cannot possibly express our gratitude enough to Mr. Busulwa for taking time out to chat with our girls and share his insightful film with them.
As usual, the fight goes on here at CREW, we continue to pledge to be “OUR SISTERS’ KEEPERS”
- Published in Events, Womens Day
BACK TO HIGH SCHOOL AFTER TEN YEARS OF MARRIAGE
“Do you first want to get married then go to school?”- Rachael
Rachael Akuach Lazarus is woman of the month at CREW (Crown The Woman). She is the true definition of this year’s Women’s Day theme “be bold for change” from her courageous decision to go back to high school after ten years of marriage.
We met Rachael at Promised Land Secondary School where CREW (Crown The Woman) was conducting a Mentorship Program. During one of our mentorship sessions, that focused on abstinence and school before marriage, Rachael sat quietly and patiently listening till the end of the program then she stood up to narrate her story. Rachael is 30 years old and has an 8 year old daughter. She has been married for close to 10 years and will be marking her 10 year marriage anniversary 3 months from now. She grew up in a Refugee Camp in Kakuma in Kenya and like many other young South Sudanese girls, she had no choice but to succumb to early marriage due to circumstances beyond her control. Life in the Refugee Camp was characterised by circumstances that include inter alia poverty, death of parents or guardians and little or no guidance and support. Nothing was left but marriage for her.
Years later, when she saw her old friends with whom she was in primary school live prosperous independent lives with university degrees and good jobs; while the only title she held was “Mom and Housewife”; she made a decision to go back to school to make something of herself as well as be a source of inspiration not only to her daughter but also for young girls all over. Although Rachael confirms that she is happily married and that her husband is supportive, she doesn’t feel fulfilled because she craves an education and a career.
She decided to resume school in 2016 and is now in Senior Two. Rachael continues to encourage the other girls to remain focused and finish school instead of rushing into marriage. she is determined to push through to University in-spite of all the challenges that she is facing such as limited scholastics like reading materials.
Rachael’s story describes the situation so many young South Sudanese girls are in. Majority are robbed of the opportunity to go to school by being forced into marriage at an early age which puts an end to their chances of independence and creates a dependency syndrome; a disease that’s eating into the economy of the youngest nation.
Crown The Woman-South Sudan continues to call upon all partners to play their roles by ensuring that girls are given the chance and the encouragement to pursue an education. We also plead that those who are married or become mothers at an early age, be given a second chance to go back to school. It’s never too late to fulfil your dream
- Published in Events, Inspiration
Professor JULIA AKER DUANY: The Power of Education in Empowering Women and Nation building
Prof. Julia has amassed a lifetime of achievement, from teaching, researching, activism on justice and social change in Sudan and now South Sudan. She is currently Vice Chancellor of Dr. John Garang Memorial University of Science and Technology, the only female VC of the five national Universities, CEO and founder of Gender Equity and Women Leadership Program in South Sudan. Formerly Chief of Party of South Sudan Higher Education Initiative and Leadership Development, Research Associate at Vincent and Lin Ostrom Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis at Indiana University. A Fulbright Scholar at Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda, she was formerly the first female Undersecretary in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Chairperson of Recruitment and Selection Board in the Ministry of Labour, Public Service and Human Resource Development in the Government of South Sudan (GOSS). In mid-1970-80s she held the position of the Deputy Secretary of the Sudanese Women General Union in Southern Region. During her tenure she was able to build the women center currently still being used in Juba.
“She is currently Vice Chancellor of Dr. John Garang Memorial University of Science and Technology, the only female VC of the five national Universities”
Julia has also taught in primary and secondary schools in Sudan and United States. She and her family fled from Sudan when war broke out in 1984, and she earned her Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctorate degrees from the Indiana University School of Education. Always concerned about social justice issues in her country, she founded the South Sudan Friends International. In 2010 she founded the National Volunteer Program (NVP) to create awareness and encourage women to participate in the Referendum which resulted of 52% of women votes for Independent of South Sudan. She wrote a book entitled ‘Making Peace and Nurturing Life: A Memoir of an African Woman about a Journey of Struggle and Hope’. She wrote extensively on social, justice and gender issues and she is very passionate about bringing in more South Sudanese women into political leadership roles. Winner of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Building Bridges Award for Faculty for dedication to service and outstanding leadership, Indiana University 2005 and Refugee Women Leadership Award for Valuable Contribution to Refugees, Women Commission for Refugees 1995, New York, USA.
“In 2010 she founded the National Volunteer Program (NVP) to create awareness and encourage women to participate in the Referendum which resulted of 52% of women votes for Independent of South Sudan”
Prof. Duany’s main interest field of study focuses on Educational Leadership and Policy Studies; she has a Ph. D. in Institutional Analysis for Higher Education, particularly in gender issues. M. Sc. in International and Comparative Education Development, B. Sc. in Social and Cultural Foundation of Education (justice and social change issues).
She is currently working on a new book on the Institutional Crises of the SPLM/A 1983-1994 soon to be published. She has worked on several articles and a contributing author for several chapters in different having been published more than 10 times. She has been invited to over 120 forums where she has advocated and made presentations as well as keynote addresses on women and children’s rights. In 2004 she gave a keynote address at the national conference for lost boys and girls of Sudan on; “Militarization of the African Children: A case of Lost Boys and Girls of Sudan”, and another Keynote address in December the same year on; “African Women’s Voices: Effect of War on Sudanese Women,” at the Center for African Studies; Department of Women’s Studies, in Columbus, Ohio. The most recent one is “The effect of Dowry and Gender-Based Violent in South Sudan”, a topic that has effect on many of the South Sudanese communities.
Prof. Julia carries her people in her heart, particularly women and children, she gives a generous amount of her time in community volunteerism, despite her extremely busy schedule, Julia somehow finds time to give back to Society. During the Sudan Civil war, she and her husband worked with the Churches to advocate for peace, focusing on the finding local solution to inter-communal conflict. This became a major program known as “People-to-People Peace-building in South Sudan. She is currently co-chair of Board Directors for many local and International NGOs, The African Leadership and Reconciliation Ministries (ALARM) in Sudan and member of the Africa Board, the Mennonite Central Committee, Sudan and South Sudan, a member of Great Lake Initiative (GLI), a Chair, Skills for South Sudan and Girls’ Guide Association South Sudan. She is a member of African Women’s Vice Chancellor Forum and Regional African Universities Forum, a member of Sudan Studies, African Studies Association, Association of African Women Educationalist, Comparative Education, International Development and was a member of the Republic of South Africa Assessment Review under New Partnership for African Development, just mention a few.
“Prof. Julia carries her people in her heart, particularly women and children, she gives a generous amount of her time in community volunteerism, despite her extremely busy schedule, Julia somehow finds time to give back to Society”
She is fluent in Dinka, Nuer and Arabic which she use to help refugees as an interpreter for diverse claims in court for various US agencies.
During the war in the 1980s-90s, Julia worked as an Educational Consultant for UNICEF in UN Operation Lifeline Sudan in 2001. She also participated in advocacy on the UN Resolution 1325. She is even a Chief Editor of the Parliamentarian Newsletter, published by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs to Promote Multi-Party Democracy in South Sudan. She is also an editor of “South Sudanese Lens”, a Newsletter published by South Sudanese Friends international. Julia has travelled to nearly 25 countries across the world.
- Published in Role Models