South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Simon Deng
Women leaders across South Sudan have reaffirmed their commitment to advancing equality and justice through the National Women’s Coalition. They pledge to continue their fight until every woman and girl lives free from violence, exclusion, and fear.
“As the ‘As We Cannot Wait’ (WCW) project concludes, women leaders have reiterated their determination to promote equality and justice through a National Women’s Coalition. We will not relent until every woman and girl in South Sudan lives free from violence, exclusion, and fear,” the leaders stated in a communiqué on Monday.
The women leaders issued a strong communiqué following the National Gender Forum, which took place in Juba from November 5 to November 7, 2025, at the Pyramid Continental Hotel.
The three-day forum, organised by the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA Network), was themed “Securing Gains, Shaping Tomorrow” and focused on women’s leadership, empowerment, and sustainability.
“The forum expressed concern over the persistent lack of political will to enforce the 35% affirmative action for women’s representation. We urge the government to fast-track the Family Bill and the Anti-GBV Bill,” it stated.
The gathering brought together civil society leaders, women’s coalitions, activists, faith-based organisations, women with disabilities, and young women from across the country to assess progress and chart the future of the women’s movement beyond the WCW project, which is supported by the Royal Netherlands Embassy.
Key recommendations included ensuring that women are appointed to replace women in leadership positions, allocating resources to gender-responsive programmes under the R-ARCSS, sustaining donor support for women’s coalitions, and strengthening justice systems to address Gender-Based Violence (GBV).
The communiqué acknowledged government efforts and partner contributions in advancing United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Maputo Protocol, and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 on gender equality.
