NORTHERN BAHR EL GHAZAL – “In South Sudan, empowering women remains a necessity. Providing them with education and equal opportunities will allow them to be more involved in decision-making processes.

That will especially true when the 35 per cent female political representation stipulated in the peace agreement is meaningfully implemented,” said Maria Angelo, a 27-year-old political activist in Aweil.

Her passion is not only for politics but also for upholding human rights, both the ones related to South Sudanese women’s relatively modest political presence and the ones intended to protect females from gender-based violence, a phenomenon all too common in the world’s youngest nation.

“We women should engage more in public life. It is a challenging matter; however, we must be persistent in claiming our social status and rights,” asserts Maria.

The responsibility for making this happen, she believes, rests not only with girls and women themselves but also with the rest of society, not least the government.

“Our political leaders must do much more to promote education for all. Being discouraged from going to school is one of the major obstacles for women and girls to be recognized in public life, and to be given important civic roles. The same mentality means that Financial independence and self-sufficiency are also vital in this course,” continued Maria.

Like many other fellow citizens, she hopes to see women being active in South Sudan’s ongoing peace and political processes. With elections scheduled for December, she thinks their participation in political forums and other preparatory activities is crucial.

“Tangible involvement in crafting our future is what we are asking for. I’m not sure it will happen, but that is certainly what I hope,” averred Maria. “Only if all women turn up to vote can we successfully assert our rights.”

Such a scenario would indeed honour this year’s national theme for International Women’s Day: “Accelerate gender inclusion and access to productive resources for women and girls”.