Women in South Sudan

A nun from South Sudan voting during the January 9, 2011 elections.

Women in South Sudan are women who live in and are from South Sudan. Since the Independence of South Sudan on 9 July 2011, these women have gained more power but still face issues of inequality. Many women in this area do not have adequate access to health resources and education.[1][2] While these women often face inequality, there has been progress since South Sudan's official declaration of independence. In recent years, this inequality has gained national attention and people have become more interested in the issue of child marriage that this area faces.[1] Along with this, there has started to be a focus on the very high level of maternal mortality in South Sudan. With a maternal mortality rate of 789 deaths per 100,000 live births, South Sudan has one of the highest rates in the world.[3]

Demographics

Currently the total population in South Sudan is 12,919,053.[4] In recent years, the population of males has surpassed the population of females.[4] In 2018, the population for females was 6,444,329 and the population for males was 6,474,720. Women in South Sudan make up around 42 percent of the country's total population. They are a smaller population when compared to the male population.[5]

Total Population by sex[4]
Year Female Male
2000 3,337,668 3,362,998
2005 4,045,798 4,063,072
2010 5,032,251 5,034,945
2015 5,950,069 5,932,058
2020 6,824,253 6,785,749

Health and Education

Throughout South Sudan, many women lack the ability and opportunity for education and health resources. According to the World Bank, 51% of the population in South Sudan is living under the poverty line.[6] In turn, many women in South Sudan are not provided the opportunity to go to school so they can stay at home and help their families and as a result are illiterate.[1] Steps have been taken to allow more children to go to school, such as South Sudan's Ministry of Education, Science and Technology creating an education system for girls.[7] While the steps taken by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology have created an increase in school attendance, there are still a number of children, especially girls, who are unable to attend school due to their family's inability to send them.[1] According to the 2006 Household Health Survey, 46% of women with no education are married before age 18.[2] Many of these women are married off rather than attending school and becoming educated.

Illiteracy and limited education also tie into women in South Sudan's inability to protect themselves from sexually transmitted infections. Only 3% of women without formal education and 2% of women from the poorest area use a form of contraception, compared to the 22% of the wealthiest area.[2] The lack of education of women in this area ties directly into their health. Less than half of the women in South Sudan have heard of HIV/AIDS and well over 50% of women are unaware of ways to prevent the disease.[2] Also, many women and girls have to drop out of school to be married and are therefore not given the opportunity to learn.[1]

According to the 2006 Sudan Household Survey, a mother's level of education plays a role on the child's weight. 35% of children from mothers with no formal education were underweight, whereas only 19% of children from mothers with secondary level education were underweight.[2] The survey also found that on average 14% of children in South Sudan are severely underweight.[2] The mean percent of children from South Sudan who are severely stunted is 18%.[2]

Marriage and Childbirth

Forced marriage and child marriages are very common for women in South Sudan and affect most women in the area.[8] Child marriages are often used as a way for families to recover lost economic resources.[9] Because a woman's family receives a dowry from the husband of their daughter, parents are interested in having their daughters married off at a very early age to whoever offers the most.[9] This dowry is also the reason for why so few women get divorced in South Sudan. If there is a divorce, the family of the wife has to repay the family of the husband the dowry that was originally given for the marriage.[9] Another reason for marrying daughters young is the fear of pregnancy out of wedlock. This causes dishonor for the family and as a result the hope is to marry a daughter before she has this chance.[9] While there are law that prevent child marriages, the government does little to enforce them, so people often do not abide by them.[9]

The belief in this culture is that men control family and political power and women are meant to follow their orders.[6] A woman's role is to give her husband children and these women face pressure from their husband's family members to bare as many children as possible.[6] Pregnancies from child marriages also result in more birth complications than marriages with older women.[9] Many women in South Sudan lack the resources and medical care that they need during their pregnancies, so if there are complications the women may not be saved.[1] As a result, South Sudan has one of the highest maternal death rates following and during pregnancy with a ratio of 789 deaths per 100,000 live births. [10][3] Because of the lack of contraception use and the fact that women are expected to have as many children as possible, this number does not waver much. A major complication faced by women in South Sudan is Obstetric Fistula. Approximately 5,000 women in South Sudan have obstetric fistula every year.[9] Fistula is most common in areas where there are not medical resources.[11] This often results in the loss of the child as well as the rejection of the woman by her husband and others.[11]

Involvement in Government

Since South Sudan's official declaration of independence on 9 July 2011, 5 out of 29 ministerial positions in the Government of South Sudan had been occupied by South Sudanese women. 10 out of 28 deputy ministers were held by women. The women of the Republic of South Sudan had also been active in liberation causes, by "providing food and shelters" to soldiers and by "caring for children" and by "caring for wounded heroes and heroines" during their political struggle prior to the country's independence. An example was their formation of the Katiba Banat ("women battalion").[12]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Gender and Statebuilding in South Sudan". United States Institute of Peace. Retrieved 2018-07-13.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Sudan Household Health Survey (SHHS) 2006 | The Republic of South Sudan". www.ssnbss.org. Retrieved 2018-07-15.
  3. 1 2 "Maternal mortality ratio (modeled estimate, per 100,000 live births) | Data". data.worldbank.org. Retrieved 2018-07-15.
  4. 1 2 3 "World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations". esa.un.org. Retrieved 2018-07-24.
  5. ↑ "South Sudan Population (2016) - World Population Review". worldpopulationreview.com. Retrieved 2016-10-31.
  6. 1 2 3 Kane S, Rial M, Matere A, Dieleman M, Broerse JE, Kok M (2016-11-28). "Gender relations and women's reproductive health in South Sudan". Global Health Action. 9: 33047. doi:10.3402/gha.v9.33047. PMC 5129092. PMID 27900934.
  7. ↑ "Empowering Girls through Education | Ministry Of Education Science And Technology | South Sudan". www.moest.org. Retrieved 2018-07-16.
  8. ↑ "South Sudan : Vulnerable to violence: Empowering women in South Sudan." Mena Report, 23 June 2017. Academic OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A506042307/AONE?u=txshracd2548&sid=AONE&xid=2e1cd737. Accessed 13 July 2018.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ""This Old Man Can Feed Us, You Will Marry Him" | Child and Forced Marriage in South Sudan". Human Rights Watch. 2013-03-07. Retrieved 2018-07-15.
  10. ↑ Green, A. (2016). Frontline: Helping women deliver in south sudan. The Lancet, 388(10057), 2226. doi:http://dx.doi.org.proxy.libraries.smu.edu/10.1016/S0140-6736(16)31646-4
  11. 1 2 "What Is Fistula? | Fistula Foundation". www.fistulafoundation.org. Retrieved 2018-07-16.
  12. ↑ Mabor, Beny Gideon. Women and Political Leadership in Africa: A demand In South Sudan transitional democracy, Sudan Tribune.
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