4 March 2014 - Focusing on culture and their rights, displaced women living at the UNMISS base in Bentiu, Unity State, gathered together today to begin three days of roundtable discussions.

As a run up to International Women’s Day on 8 March, they explored the influence culture had on realization of their rights in South Sudan.

“A mothers we should start teaching our boys from this camp about their sisters’ rights,” said Fatima Suleiman. “If we ask a girl to prepare the tea, let us ask her brother to wash the cup. Equality it is the key.”

Another participant, Aida Ali Mokhtar, said women should keep good customs but lay aside bad ones. “We should keep the good ones because we believe tradition … is our identity. We cannot leave our culture, but we should ignore the bad ones.”

Also discussed was the role of women in peacekeeping, as talks continue in Addis Ababa to resolve a conflict that broke out on 15 December in Juba between government and opposition forces, and rapidly spread to other states, including Unity.

“We should be part of the discussions between the government and rebels,” said Wafa Abdallah. “We should have one (woman) to represent us in Addis Ababa. We need a woman from the IDP (internally displace person) camp to go there and to talk because we are the ones who suffer. We lost our men.”

Participant Fatima Suleiman said women should talk about their rights every day, rather than just one in the year. “I am proud to be a woman, I am proud to be a mother and I am proud to be a wife. But I will be more proud to have my rights. We are peacemakers. Give us a chance and we will not disappoint you.”

The theme of International Women's Day this year is "Equality for women is progress for all”.