12 March 2012 - South Sudanese women could point to specific achievements six months after independence, but they had a long way to go in obtaining full rights, a group of national women's rights and advocacy groups said today.

Attending a workshop organized by the UNMISS Public Information section to celebrate International Women's Day, 20 participants representing a dozen groups said a series of laws, attitudes, and societal perceptions must change before South Sudanese woman can mark further tangible progress.

They said the government also needed to play a more active role in promoting women's rights, but can only do so if it develops a viable gender policy.

Progress made included securing governmental guarantee that 25 per cent of seats in all independent commissions would be allocated to women, an overall increase in female participation in national politics in a male-dominated society, involvement of women in business and increased enrollment of girls in school, they said.

Equally important had been the attitude change of many females in reporting rape and sexual abuse, which must be encouraged even further, they added.

Participants said that insecurity, poverty, illiteracy, detrimental customs and cultural norms as well as being uncomfortable making "important" decisions still remained serious roadblocks for women's rights in South Sudan.

Some rang alarm bells that a bigger danger could arise if educated women, mostly in the capital Juba, allowed a gap to develop with their rural and less empowered counterparts in distant cities and districts.

One consensus among participants was that South Sudanese women's rights advocacy groups could only be more effective if they themselves received additional funding, further training on gender and human rights issues, and more acceptability in corridors of power. Only then could they truly branch out to rural and hard-to-reach corners of the country, where adherence to women's rights was lowest.

While still fresh from the legitimacy of ballot boxes that brought it to power not long ago, the central government in Juba should remember that it too has a vital role in ensuring South Sudanese women attain full rights, according to the groups attending the discussion.

They urged the government to enact meaningful family laws, ensure that women's rights are guaranteed in future national decisions, actively support enforcement of those decisions, and show its commitment to women by adopting a national gender policy, in which women are full participants.