South Sudan: Woman Activist Exploring Men’s Attitudes and Perceptions of Women Caught Up in Conflict
By Onen Walter Solomon
I am starting to question the mentality that men in South Sudan have and how they perceive women.
A renowned women’s activist in South Sudan is appealing to warring parties, armed opposition groups, youth, and men involved in inter-communal conflicts to change the way they treat and view women caught up in conflict.
Ms. Merekaje Lorna Nanjia, the Secretary-General of the South Sudan Democratic Engagement Monitoring and Observation Programme (SSuDEMOP), a national NGO with a mandate for conflict mitigation, says that women and girls have been victims of rape for years.
Speaking on the Morning Echo Show on Monday, Merekaje expressed her confusion about why men resort to sexually abusing women and girls during armed conflict.
“I am starting to question the mentality that men in South Sudan have and how they perceive women. Even in conflicts like cattle rustling or disputes between cattle owners and agrarian communities, women are often victims – girls are raped, women are raped in the process.”
A 19-year-old girl, a P.8 [Grade 8] pupil of Gwerek Primary School preparing to sit for the South Sudan Primary Leaving Examinations, was allegedly gang-raped and hanged by suspected land grabbers in Molobur Area, in Juba. According to the No.1 Citizen Daily English Newspaper dated Thursday, November 21, 2024, the deceased’s uncle, Edward Dion, a lawmaker representing Jebel Ladu Payam in the Central Equaria State Legislative Assembly, stated that late Lilian Henry Musa Dion was revising with her colleagues.
“At around 8:00 PM [CAT] while studying at school, she [Lilian] received a phone call. She stepped out of the classrooms next to the washroom when criminal land grabbers assaulted, raped, and gruesomely killed her.”
Merekaje believes that all parties involved in armed conflict should adhere to international humanitarian law, which prioritizes the protection of unarmed civilians and does not objectify women.
“Women should not be objectified in the process. They need protection.”
Rape and other forms of sexual violence, when committed in the context of an armed conflict, whether international or non-international, are violations of international humanitarian law (IHL).
The principle of distinction requires that parties in armed conflict always distinguish between those who do and do not take an active part in hostilities. Civilians cannot be attacked unless they are directly participating in hostilities.
During the first quarter of 2024, the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) documented 913 victims of inter-communal and political violence, including 468 people killed, 328 injured, 70 abducted and 47 subjected to sexual violence. Civilians in Warrap State suffered the highest rates of violence, followed by Jonglei and Eastern Equatoria States.
South Sudan is obligated by the four Geneva Conventions of 1949, the two Additional Protocols of 1977 (both of which were ratified by South Sudan in 2012), and customary international humanitarian law.
