Challenges to Sustainable Peace and Conflict Situation in Southern Sudan: Gender Perspective

Abstract

This study set out to investigate the challenges of sustainable reintegration in post-conflict situations using a gender perspective and case studying the South Sudan experience.  The study objectives were: (i) To establish the problems of economic empowerment of women and how these can limit the sustainability of refugee reintegration; (ii) examine how access to land and its ownership pose challenges to the sustainability of refugee reintegration; (iii) analyse how marginalization of women limits the sustainability of refugee reintegration, and (iv) to elucidate how lack of social rehabilitation limits the sustainability of refugee reintegration. Review of literature was done in accordance to the study objectives. The study used both qualitative and quantitative approaches in the process of data collection and the main tools of data collection were respondents’ questionnaire, interviews with key informants, and focus group discussions. A total sample of 170 respondents was covered. The findings indicate that the social economic empowerment profile of the women returnees is a set of intertwined, counter-reinforcing issues that places them at a disadvantage right from the outset yet reintegration programmes are not adequately addressing these vulnerabilities. There is widespread lack of access/ownership to land by women due to gender, cultural discrimination and most critically due to the peculiar post-war circumstances. Moreover there is fluidity in land policy and administration between the different levels of government, which places the ‘gender and land’ issues far off the national policy discourse. There is therefore a gender-blind, supply driven approach to reintegration by the government and aid agencies, which is worsening the above vulnerabilities. The recommendations therefore suggest practical solutions for empowerment of women such as micro credit, skills training/capacity building; land reform to address the post-conflict land challenge that women find themselves in. At policy levels, there is need for aggressive gender mainstreaming with specific target to women in governments efforts to service delivery such as affirmative girl-child education to promote female gender participation / representation in leadership positions among others.

Keywords: Conflict management, re-integration after war, women based re-integration after war