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Supporting women in south Sudan

Women from Kajo-Keji in South Sudan, who have been refugees, are now rebuilding their lives, with CAFOD's help [Rob Rees]

While the media spotlight is on Darfur in western Sudan, people in the south are experiencing some of the benefits of an end to a long-term conflict - thanks to South Sudan Women Concern

For many years, Sudan has been torn by civil war between the north and south.

Now the Government has signed an outline peace deal with the main rebel force in the south which is expected to be finalised in the coming months.

People who fled their homes during the years of war are starting to return to their home villages in the hope of rebuilding their lives there.

Support for lone women

With support from CAFOD, women in southern Sudan are learning how to produce enough food for their families and earn extra income in their villages.

In an area close to the border with Uganda, South Sudan Women’s Concern (SSWC), supported by CAFOD, works with women’s groups.

These women had to fend for themselves after their husbands went away to fight in the long-running civil war between the Government of Sudan and the southern rebel group, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A).

Although a ceasefire has been holding since 2001 in southern Sudan, many men have either been killed or are still in the rebel forces, so life is tough for the women living there.

More than half a million people were forced away from their homes during the civil war, which continued for many years with little international media attention.

Now a peace agreement is expected to be signed within the next few months. In anticipation of this, around 15,000 of these displaced people have started to return to their home villages in the areas where SSWC works.

Growing enough food

Bladina Eyolse, who is a member of one of SSWC’s women’s groups said: "We were in the refugee camp in Adjumani [in neighbouring Uganda] for five years, where we suffered terribly.

"We were then transferred to a settlement scheme and given plots of land to cultivate. Then the original owners of the land returned and chased us away so we were left with nothing at all.

"We decided that Sudan could not be any worse than Uganda so in May 2000 we came back. Now, thanks to SSWC we produce enough food to feed ourselves, to pay for clothing for the children and their school fees. My husband is with the SPLA [the southern rebel forces] so I have to manage all the work at home on my own."

Women playing a key role in society

Many of the returning female-headed households are keen to join the women’s groups set up by SSWC in the villages.

Traditionally in Sudan, only men cultivate the land, but in order to help communities survive, SSWC encouraged women to take control of their lives by working on the land together.

They give the women’s groups seeds and tools to grow their own crops, and goats to provide milk and meat.

...thanks to SSWC we produce enough food to feed ourselves, to pay for clothing for the children and their school fees. My husband is with the SPLA [the southern rebel forces] so I have to manage all the work at home on my own

The women agree to repay seeds from the crops they grow and goats when offspring are produced.

Learning new skills

They are able to earn an income from the sale of their surplus crops and vegetables. SSWC runs workshops to help build technical and leadership skills to help the women to contribute to making decisions about the future of their communities.

By bringing together community leaders, elders and local authorities with the women, a discussion can be held about the issue of women’s rights to have access to the land. They also talk about how to help newly returned families fit back into their communities.

SSWC has been supported by CAFOD since 1999 and around 5,000 families have been helped by the programme so far.

Security for the future

SSWC recently secured a plot of land where they plan to build a centre which can be used for meetings and for running classes to help the women learn how to read, as few of them have received any formal education.

Many women have said they now have more food for their families, a means to earn an income and better skills for looking after money, thanks to the SSWC groups. This has made many of them feel more respected, more confident and more secure.

Building on the success of the main programme in Kajo-keji, SSWC has established a similar programme in nearby Yei, working with around 500 recently returned female-headed households, helping them to get access to land for cultivation.