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| Us Special Envoy To Sudan; An Oportunity For Sudanese Women? |
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US Special Envoy to Sudan: New Opportunities for Sudanese Women (Why We Must Act Right Now)
By Sarah Cleto Rial
On March 18, President Obama named General Scott Gration as the US Special Envoy to Sudan. This appointment comes at a critical time for Sudanese women.
After many years, Sudan remains at war. These wars have taken a toll on the lives of all Sudanese women. We are being tortured and raped, our young children are still being murdered and our families are still being forcibly displaced from their homes. Food, water and medical supplies are cut off and the rate of poverty is unimaginable.
What’s a woman to do? This appointment creates great opportunities for us Sudanese women to raise our collective voices of wisdom and to build solidarity and power. We must act instantly to make a difference in the peace building movement that leads to sustainable peace in the whole of Sudan.
General Gration recently met with Sudan peace advocates at the White House. Reverend Gloria White-Hammond, the Executive Director of My Sister’s Keeper (http://www.mskeeper.org/site/), was invited to participate.
General Gration shared his vision of a Sudan that is politically strong and economically viable. He underscored the importance of simultaneously working on several different fronts to solve the crisis. He outlined the need to resolve the current humanitarian crisis in Darfur. He also emphasised that Darfur needs a political resolution in which the regime and the rebels negotiate a sustainable peace agreement.
Furthermore, he noted that failure of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) is not an option; it must be fully implemented. He said that the elections, expected in February 2010 and the referendum in 2011 must go forth, adding that the US is committed to strengthening necessary institutions to position an autonomous Government of South Sudan (GoSS) to be viable.
That, he added, will require power-sharing, verifiable wealth sharing, and effective security with the institution of law and order throughout Sudan that guarantees universal human rights.
General Gration committed to being accountable; to engage in an open and transparent process, such that we can give him suggestions and feedback. He stated that he wakes up everyday determined to make life better for Sudanese citizens and not just the masses, but each individual.
Now, we have all been waiting a long time to hear such promising and hopeful statements. We, too, wake up every day wanting peace in Sudan. This is the moment that all women must seize to influence the current US policies and ensure that the international community is listening to our voices and that we are the drivers of our cause.
The world has seen the unthinkable happening in Sudan and this is the moment to say enough is enough! Women’s involvement is absolutely critical. There are important roles that we in the Diaspora can also undertake.
My Sister’s Keeper is a women-led humanitarian action initiative. One of our projects, Sisterhood for Peace, supports the growth of a network of diverse Sudanese women who collaborate across boundaries of race, religion, ethnicity, and geography. This initiative enhances the capacity of women to lead civic engagement activities that promote peace and justice and result into the end of conflicts throughout Sudan.
Some of the ideas of actions that need to happen immediately include:
Policy / Legislation
Follow up meeting of Sudanese women with the Special Envoy for Sudan
Carry out gender analysis in all institutions in Sudan including governmental and non-governmental organisations
Hold national panelist/conference that will bring together advocacy groups, community leaders and organizers, academics, policy makers, and service providers
Grassroots / Mobilisation / Advocacy
Organising panel discussions in various locations that will allow women from different regions to come together and offer their perspectives about the current issues in Sudan
Enhance and support community organising civic education sessions
Planning new and creative forms of public actions such as silent vigils
Get out in the media opinions, letters, emails, articles among others
Hold telephone conferences with others locally and nationally to get their support
We hope that Sudanese women will move forward with a sense of common purpose. The movement for peace and justice throughout Sudan can unify women to celebrate our common values despite different viewpoints. Together we can make a difference!
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Hey Dear Yom,
Thank you so much for addressing the issue of women in Sudan. First of all, I do really understand that our women in Sudan are really facing the inevitability's of the war crimes such as rapes, prosecutions, murdering and so many others ailments as such. But, my point is that, although, you and I plus the others Southern Sudanese people who have their support on the women think the same way as you pinpointed it in your article, what will be the really resolution to make in order to eradicated all those inhuman practices from transpiring to our women as a whole? Yes, it is true that your point of view is serving a very great significant purpose and that I do agree with you on the point of women. On the other hand, if I'm not wrong, then 90% percent of our women in Sudan are affected by the puberties and that is not the only one; there are so many things apart from that which degenerated our women from progressing and developed a new innovation. To solves all these problems, we should have to stay united and see the problems overwhelming us regardless whether you are a woman, a man, a girl or a boy. We should have to stand on the "pins' and bear the same pains. If we leaves the pins on our land, they will prick out feet and cause us a discomfort to our feet. In other meaning, we should have to combine ourselves together and give no inches to Arabs so that we can be free in Southern Sudan.
Yom, to be honest with you as I mentioned above that, "there are some other things that degenerated our women from progressing and developed a new skills", here are some examples for you to digest and compare them with the rapes, murder, crimes of the war and therefore, prosecutions. First, our women suffered a lot in "parturition" that mean, when a woman give birth to a child, there are things that needs to be given to woman; like medicines so that the woman can not feel pain or have a "hemorrhage"-a perfusion bleeding after woman give birth. This problem lead to death if obstetricians are not fully aware of what the are doing. Likewise, our woman in Sudan especially in Southern Sudan, they don't do"Prenatal Care" which is the care given to the pregnants mothers before delivering the child. Second, our woman in Southern Sudan imposed to do all domestic works even if they are pregnants. As a result, their body don't get enough rest and this later on cause them to have what is call"Myasthenia"- a general weakness or abnormal fatigue of the muscles. So, Yom, woman are really suffering indeed particulary in Southern Sudan and what cause them is because of the war, but if it is not because of the war, then I hope our women in Southern Sudan should not be like that at all.
But, according to my own understanding, 96% of the cause was caused by Khartoum Government because of the long war happened in Sudan. With my own imgagination, majorities of the Widow women particulary in Southern Sudan are affected by this incident. Why? Because they don't get any help like they use to when their husbands are around. They don't have times to relaxs and give loves to their children as they are engaged with work and many other activities all the times. As I noticed, there is nothing completely to solves this problem unless our Southern Sudan are given their right to exercise and solves their own problems without Arabs intervention. To me, there is still a long way to get our right as we have seen it in CPA. What happened in CPA now? Arabs from Northern Sudan wants to derailed the peace initiative and that is why right now there is still some tensions in areas of Abiemnom(Ruweng), Jok-Ngok of Abyei, Aweil and Panaruu(Panrieng) as well as Malakal. So my advise is that, although, our women suffered, still there will be a time in which they will be happy and do their own things normally without worrying and feeling of dismay. Suffering is nothing, but if we leave our land to Arabs in the North, then suffering will be better and after all, there will be no what is call Southern Sudan anymore. Therefore, Arabs can do whatever they wants. So, let us adhered ourselves together for the seeks of supporting our Government of Southern Sudan to do our will efficiently without failure. Yom, pray God and the rests of the others Southern Sudanese plus I, we will pray God for the seek of our Southern Sudan Unity. Your vision aspiration is very strong and more encourageable and I hope that our women particulary in Southern Sudan will have good shape sometime, otherwise.
Thank you so much Yom, for your point of view of seeing the inner situation in which our women are facing.
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