Solidarity with the South Sudanese LGBTQ+ Community
Like anywhere in the world and in history, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender South Sudanese exist. Crimalisiing and stigmatizing their existence means they live in denial and hiding but does not erase their existence. Article 248 of the South Sudan Penal Code terms same-sex sexual acts as “unnatural” and criminalizes it for up to ten […]
When Your Body Belongs To Everyone Else But Yourself
Dear reader, I hope you are doing great and have a minute or two; I’ll need your input at the end of this article. I want to go straight to the point with this one, and I hope you are okay with that. So, this lady would like to have an abortion, she is 29 […]
Where Is The Anti-GBV Bill?
It’s been over three years now since the proposed Anti-Gender-Based Violence Bill was submitted to the National Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs. A month ago, The Ma’Mara Sakit Village community of young women and girls launched a campaign – #WhereIsTheAntiGBVBill? to reignite the bill lying redundant somewhere on the tables of the policymakers. This campaign aims to raise awareness […]
16 Individual and Collective South Sudanese Women and Girls’ Stories of Resistance
To commemorate 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence 2022, Gender Talk 211 highlighted 16 individual and collective South Sudanese women and girls’ stories of resistance (a story each day) to 16 forms of GBV under the theme “UNITE: Activism to End Violence against Women & Girls!” 2. Resisting Child and Forced MarriageIn Dec 2020, Abuk Lual sued […]
Unoriginal Culture: An Analysis of How Colonialism Codified Homophobia In Africa
Abstract African progressiveness faces many challenges. One of the greatest opponents has become the politics of sexuality on the continent. The discourse on decriminalizing homosexuality has always followed that of a patriarchal and heteronormative nature. One of the results of colonialism in Africa is the push for the preservation and anti-infringement of the ‘true’ African identity […]
Gender Talk 211: 30 South Sudanese women and Girls of 2020
Gender Talk 211 dedicated the month of March 2020 to honoring 30 South Sudanese women and their efforts to challenge gender norms and contribute to creating change globally. The commemoration was under the theme ‘Women’s Month30’ using the hashtag #ChooseToChallene leading to International Women’s Day on March 8th through the end of the month. The women […]
South Sudan Is A Frightful Place To Be A Young Woman
There never seemed to be a conversation I had with a man in Juba that didn’t mention why I’m not married. From the bishop to the shopkeeper, right down to the tuk-tuk driver. Every conversation. Every time. What did it for me was being told by the airport staff, “next time you come back, you […]
Sexual Liberation Now More Than Ever
You can’t be a good girl, and you know or speak about sex. In some South Sudanese communities, you need a pair of white bedsheets to prove your sexual naivety on your wedding night. ‘The Milaya policy,’ if I can call it that. If you are not fortunate enough to have a honeymoon- Mombasa flight […]
Adultification of Young South Sudanese Girls 
Adultification bias is a social prejudice where children get treated, perceived, and held to a standard of being more mature than they are, either within a cultural group or society at large. Being a child is an existence determined by biology. Yet, childhood is an experience historically shaped by the adult(s) and culture, family, and […]
Let’s Talk About Sex: Sexual Autonomy for South Sudanese Women
African culture and custom, as they exist today, are a blend of African customs, imported colonial common and civil law notions, and religious concepts from Christianity, Islam, and traditional African religions. The application of these laws within the plural legal systems, which are the legacy of the colonial era, has left women socially and politically […]
