Some cultures are killing girl child education
By Kiden Stela Mandela
South Sudan has 64 tribes with different cultures in terms of marriage traditions among others. These cultures have really affected the education of girls in our communities.
During the era of the then southern Sudan there were well-established educational infrastructures, mainly primary in the northern Sudan and those days the schools were not easily accessible by the poor.
During the war of 1983 when the southern got an opportunity over deprivation by the Khartoum government, still women were not given good education that’s why up to day our women do not represent well despite the key positions they are handling like other women leader’s in other countries because they are the ones who are mostly marginalized in achieving education since they are perceived to have known nothing in the societies.
The continuous war in South Sudan had contributed to low education of women in the societies. One of the factors is the inter communal violence whereby women are used as source of violence, they are raped, abducted in a younger age, growing with strangers end up doing house work and prevented from getting education.
Our culture of early marriage here because of one getting rich has to crucify the daughter in order to be called big man with the dowry that will be given to him depriving the education of girls in the country without knowing that by educating them will benefit the nation and his family at large and such people are not punished by the law so that other people may fear.
This violence against women should stop; the government should now establish good schools and stabilize security of the country to give conducive environment for learning if we want to see good leadership of future South Sudan.
I urge the government to reduce the rate of hotels in South Sudan more especially the ones that are operated by the foreigners the best examples are in Mauna residential area around Customs, along the roads which are very local, mostly dangerous to our young girls aging from 14-25 because long time ago hotels are meant for people who are traveling. Instead of allowing investors to build hotels, direct them to build more schools to reduce the rate of illiteracy in the country. It is true that the high rate of HIV is mostly found amongst young girls.
God Bless South Sudan
Be right there!