South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Simon Deng
The Deputy Country Representative for UN Women Rukaya Muhammed on Tuesday said the empowerment of women in the country is being constrained by existing social norms and insufficient access to education and financing.
“For generations, South Sudanese women have supported their families and communities by engaging in entrepreneurial activities, however their progress has often been constrained by a mixture of prevailing social norms, institutional impediments and insufficient access to education and access to financing,” said Muhammed while launching a program for gender equality at Radisson Blu Hotel in Juba.
“We are ringing the bell aimed at raising awareness on pivotal role played by the private sector in advancing gender equality, this event will provide a platform for women entrepreneurs to interact with the private sector, discuss successes, challenges and opportunities on how to accelerate gender equality,” she said.
The initiative for supporting gender equality across the country is spearheaded by UN Women in collaboration with the African Development Bank, Alpha Bank and the World Food Programme (WFP).
Themba Bhebhe, the Country Manager for African Development Bank (AfDB) said the bank supports women and youth across the continent, adding that the bank has two windows, the public and private sector for supporting countries.
Victoria Otieno, the Managing Director for Alpha Bank said they have in place corporate social responsibility program for supporting women entrepreneurs, adding that investing in women leads to greater prosperity in the communities.
“As Alpha commercial bank, we believe it is our responsibility to lead the way in empowering women and creating more inclusive financial system,” said Otieno.
