Women and Grassroots Peacebuilding in South Sudan

(peacenews.com)

Grassroots women’s efforts are rarely documented and recognized. However, the informal peacebuilding strategies employed by Women Peace Activists are as important as the roles of women in formal peace processes. Between 2015 and 2018 the Women’s International Peace Centre conducted research to document the informal strategies that women activists utilized toward peacebuilding in the post-2013 conflict era in South Sudan.

The War in South Sudan that began December 2023 resulted in many deaths and displacements, with women and girls bearing the major burden. Violations continue even after the signing of the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement. Throughout the war and even now attacks on civilians, including widespread and systematic sexual violence employed as a tactic of war continue unabated. Women’s participation, as defined by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000), refers to the role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and in peacebuilding and their equal participation.

South Sudanese women have been actively involved in official peace processes and are experienced in informal conflict resolution methods. Through focus group discussions and in-depth interviews, women peace activists shared a number of informal strategies they utilized to promote peace. Among these are raising awareness of the conflict and the peace process, public marches and protests, prayer vigils, food provision, and the use of information technology as peace-building tools.

Most times before violence starts, early warning signals are noticed but ignored until a trigger sparks and fighting erupts. When the conflict started in 2013 and again, in 2016, in the Capital Juba, the majority of women and other citizens did not understand what had actually caused the fighting, which led to fear in the population. Women Leaders for Peace composed of women Parliamentarians and women directors of civil society organizations held meetings with the Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) leadership. The meeting pushed for the involvement of women in the peace process. This provided the drive to ensure the visibility of women. The women leaders used the media to share information on the conflict and denounce violence. 

Women Peace Activists mobilized across religious and ethnic divides and organized public protests to push parties to the Agreement to respect their commitments. Women also organized “A Silent March’ to protest sexual violence and the need for freedom of speech. The Women’s Desk of the South Sudan Council of Churches organized monthly prayers for lasting peace in the country. This prayer engagement provided space to counsel traumatized women and girls. Mothers Union provided food, clothes, bedding and other household items to displaced women and children. In addition, the Mothers Union organized training in farming for women. This enabled trained women to grow food that boosted the nutrition of the family, as well as for sale. This gardening brought women to work and reflect on the conflict as a collective. This action addressed the issues of food insecurity associated with war and shows the significance of food security in peacebuilding.

The Association of Women with Disabilities (AWD) ensured the inclusion of women living with disabilities in humanitarian response and enabled this group to receive food items and other relief items. This is important as women and other persons with disability are always forgotten in contexts of conflict and post-conflict settings. 

The South Sudan Women Peace Activists joined other informal engagements through the broader South Sudanese Civil Society and established a mechanism to raise the voices of the people, particularly women, to influence the peace process and ensure that the delegates at the Peace table show a serious commitment to bringing peace to South Sudan. For instance,  the  #South Sudan Is Watching Campaign aimed to show the leadership and the world that the South Sudanese people are united as citizens. 

Women of South Sudan received support from other African women. An online campaign #SawaSouthSudan brought together influential women leaders from South Sudan, the African continent, and the world in a Virtual Summit to elevate the voices of South Sudan’s women, galvanize international support, and foster dialogue around solutions for lasting and equitable peace.  The Special Envoy of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC) on Women, Peace and Security also led a solidarity mission to South Sudan as part of the campaign to restore the dignity of the women of South Sudan.  This was an affirmation that women’s voices on the impact of the war were being heard and evoking actions and interventions at different levels.

The activities carried out by these women contribute to sustaining peace in South Sudan, and require sacrifice, resilience and courage. These approaches are usually not recognized but have been valuable to building peace. Despite the work done by grassroots women they usually do not receive funds to support their work. It is important that women’s peacebuilding is recognized, supported and valued by providing resources to sustain women’s informal peace-building work.