Day: January 31, 2022

South Sudan’s hunger crisis is leaving girls at greater risk of early marriage. This publication seeks to understand the drivers of early marriage and highlight solutions to address it

SOUTH SUDANESE GIRLS FORCED INTO EARLY MARRIAGES TO MEET THEIR FAMILY’S NEEDS

By Jemima Tumalu, Communications Officer

“I was in primary seven when my parents forced me to marry,” says 15-year-old Adut, a mother of one. At the age of 13, Adut was forced to marry a 42-year-old man and drop out of school. Conflict forced Adut and her family to flee their village and seek shelter at an Internally Displaced Persons camp in Tonj South where she lives now. “We fled and sought refuge here since what we called home was destroyed and in ruins,” she says. She says that before conflict interrupted her family’s life they were not very poor and could afford two meals a day. Once they were displaced and their means of earning an income was destroyed, life became too hard.

Adut’s parents saw their daughter as their only opportunity to survive. ”My family was given 15 cows as my bride price,” she sadly reports. “I had to drop out of school, manage a family and separate from my parents.” Sadly, Adut’s situation is not unique. Nearly half of all girls in South Sudan marry before the age of 18. A 2013 report from Human Rights Watch1 highlights that dowry often leads families to force their girls to marry as early as possible, often after first menstruation. In South Sudan, dowry is paid by the groom and his family and can include cattle, money and other gifts. After marriage, Adut’s life revolved around assisting her husband sell charcoal, which is his only source of income. “Sometimes we sleep hungry due to a lack of food if no one bought charcoal from us. I also sell charcoal at home or collect firewood from the forest to supplement my husband’s earning.” They do not have a support system and Adut says she did not benefit from the bride price.

“My mother feels embarrassed because of the situation I am in right now and has never visited me. I did not benefit from the cows given to my family and do not have anything to feed on.” According to 2020 research published in the Journal of Black Studies2 about early marriage in South Sudan, traditional gender norms in South Sudan mean that girls have little decision-making power, with parents and male siblings instead responsible for making decisions on their behalf, “including getting them married without their consent” writes the research study’s author Kon M. Madut.

“I regret this marriage but had no option,” Adut says. “If I get money, I want to go back to school and fulfil my dream of becoming a doctor.” She says that before her husband started the charcoal business, he was working as a shop attendant but when a few things went missing, he was imprisoned for a week before he was released.

“We would cry with my daughter Ajak Manut and sleep uneasily. I was always scared at night because I had not slept alone,” she says.

World Vision, with support from United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, funds the South Sudan Humanitarian Project in Tonj South. The goal of this humanitarian project is to respond through multi-sectoral interventions to crisisaffected population in greater Tonj. Affected sectors include health, nutrition, food security and livelihood as well as protection addressing issues such as child marriage/ forced marriage.

Joseph Deng, a World Vision project manager says, “The project has a component of community awareness on early child marriage, child rights abuse, Gender Based Violence and peace building. These activities will have positive impacts in terms of changing the mindset of the community on the issues mentioned.

This is the only way we can change and educate our community about negative and unproductive behaviors.”

Source: World Vision

Thousands of protesters on Sunday took to the streets in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum and other cities to demand civilian rule and urge the authorities to punish alleged killers of protesters during demonstrations in recent weeks.

Protesters gathered in Khartoum’s busiest bus station Sharwani, and marched toward the Republican Palace, but the security forces used tear gas to expel them, eyewitnesses said.

Sudanese security forces closed major roads in central Khartoum and deployed military reinforcements around the army headquarters, as well as the routes leading to the presidential palace in Khartoum.

The protests took place despite a ban announced by the State’s security committee on Saturday on gatherings in central Khartoum during the weekend.

On the same day, the United Nations Integrated Transitional Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) urged the Sudanese authorities not to restrict peaceful assembly and freedom of expression.

For nearly two months, the Sudanese capital Khartoum and other cities have been rocked by regular mass protests demanding civilian rule, and dozens of protesters were killed in clashes with security forces.

Sudan has been suffering a political crisis after the general commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan declared a state of emergency on Oct. 25, 2021 and dissolved the Sovereign Council and the government.

Source: National News Agency

Sudanese security forces on Sunday killed one protester and wounded dozens in the last pro-democracy demonstrations in January, three months after the coup.

The anti-coup protests are spearheaded by the Resistance Committees which call for the return of the armed forces to their barracks and to cease interfering in the management of state affairs.

The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors said that Mohamed Youssif Ismail died of a chest injury but failed to determine if it was caused by a bullet or a tear gas canister.

Sudanese security forces used tear gas canisters horizontally, directed at individuals, in violation of international standards, as confirmed by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Before the protests, the Sudanese authorities issued a statement banning protests in the Khartoum downtown area, the surroundings of the presidential palace and army headquarters.

However, the protesters headed as usual to the presidency which is the headquarters of the military-led Sovereign Council.

When the demonstrators reached the restricted area in large numbers the security forces massively fired tear gas and used Skunk Water to disperse them.

Dozens of peaceful demonstrators were injured in Khartoum and the other states across the country.

Several Resistance Committees spoke about the brutal crackdown by the security forces.

Women are increasingly taking to the streets with banners expressing their support for their daughters and sons.

In another sign of growing anger and rejection of the military rule, Sudanese in northern Sudan states are blocking the highways to prevent the exportation of goods to Egypt which is accused of supporting the coup leaders.

The continued killing of youth has discredited the military rulers failed to explain the excessive use of force against peaceful protesters.

The Commander-In-Chief of the Sudanese army Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan reinstated the Islamist officers who worked under the former regime.

Al-Burhan gives them free hand to suppress the protests. He also issued a decree giving them the right to detain protesters arbitrarily.

With Ismail, the death toll from the crackdown on the anti-coup protests rose to 79 people.

Despite the continued excessive use of violence, the resistance committees say they would not give up their peaceful protests.

Also, the delocalized youth groups discuss papers to adopt a political platform reflecting their positions on national issues after the collapse of the current military regime.

The Resistance Committees refuse dialogue, compromise, or partnership with the current military leaders who should take responsibility for the killing and grave crime against humanity they committed since December 2019, say the Sudanese youth.

Source: Sudan Tribune

IGAD said ready to support a Sudanese owned process to end the political crisis that sparked in the country three months after a military coup.

IGAD’s Executive Secretary Workneh Gebeyehu arrived on Sunday in Khartoum to hold political talks with the military and political leaders as the regional body intends to play a role together with the African Union in the settlement of the Sudanese crisis.

After his arrival in Khartoum, Gebeyehu met the envoys of the IGAD countries to Sudan to consult on the situation in the country.

In a tweet after the meeting, he said all of them “affirmed the need for IGAD to support a process that is led and owned by the people of Sudan”.

“IGAD stands ready to support,” he stressed.

The visit comes as the east African block plans to hold a summit on Sudan, Somalia and Ethiopia next March in Uganda.

In a meeting held on January 25, the African Union’s Peace and Security Council urged the African Union Commission and the IGAD to mediate a solution for the political stalemate in Sudan.

The acting Undersecretary at the Foreign Ministry Abdallah Omer Bashir welcomed “the efforts of the IGAD to bridge the gaps between the Sudanese parties,” said the Sudanese foreign ministry after a meeting with Gebeyehu.

The efforts of the region in Sudan come, while the UN is undertaking consultations with the Sudanese parties within an effort aiming to pave the ground for an intra-Sudanese dialogue.

It is not clear if the African Union and IGAD intend to coordinate with the UNITAMS or not.

Source: Sudan Tribune

Sudanese security authorities on Sunday arrested two members of the SPLM-North led by Malik Agar accusing them of financing the activities of Resistance Committees, the spearhead of anti-coup protests.

In a statement extended to the Sudan Tribune, Yasir Arman, SPLM-N Deputy Head said the security service called for the immediate release of two of the Movement’s members in Khartoum Engineer Hussam al-Din al-Merfabi and Dr Mohamed Abdel -Rahman Nuqd Allah who have been arrested at 7:30 p.m.

They are charged with funding and leading the activities of Resistance Committees through the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM),

“These accusations are untrue,” Arman said.

“The SPLM does not fund the Resistance Committees, which are revolutionary, civil self-funded groups and independent in their activities,” he further stressed.

The SPLM-N Agar and two other signatory groups of the Juba Peace Agreement expressed their frustration with the al-Burhan coup and publically denounced it.

The African Union Peace and Security called to avoid “any relapse into conflict by the signatory armed groups who have been peacefully participating in the transition process in Sudan.

The military authorities after the coup had arrested Arman for nearly one month before releasing him.

Source: Sudan Tribune

An alliance of South Sudanese opposition movement (SSOMA) has condemned the “continuous” attacks by government forces on the National Salvation Front (NAS) positions in several parts of Central and Western Equatoria States.

SOMMA, in a statement extended to Sudan Tribune, said the hold-group witnessed extensive and continuous attacks on its military positions all over the Equatoria region by forces of the Juba regime.

“The attacks took place on the 5th and 18th January in multiple bases in Lainya County (CES) and on 26th January in Lainya and Wonduruba. These unprovoked attacks by SSPDF have been met with formidable resistance by NAS forces in defense of their bases and civilians in the area,” partly reads the statement issued on January 30.

It added, “SSOMA condemns in the strongest possible terms this aggression of the [Salva] Kiir regime. The regime’s attacks are taking place in the backdrop of President Kiir’s call for “unconditional engagement with SSOMA”.

The opposition alliance accused the Juba government of pursuing military strategy as opposed to peaceful means of ending conflict.

It, however, stressed that it is fully committed to the Rome peace initiative under the auspices of the Community of Sant’Egidio.

“However, SSOMA will not tolerate attacks and aggression on its positions,” it noted.

Source: Sudan Tribune