By Jurugo Emmanuel Ogasto
A South Sudanese activist has criticized political parties for disregarding the 35% representation of women in the government.
Executive Director of Gender Empowerment for South Sudan Organization (GESSO), Shara Nyanth Elijah voiced her concerns during a workshop in Juba.
She highlighted that women have not been given their due recognition and that the peace agreement’s provision for women’s representation has been violated by most parties.
“According to me, women have not realized the thirty per cent of the agreement meant for them. Look at this game most of these parties have left the women are out which is not good,” she added.
Shara stated that women’s participation must be observed as stipulated in the agreement.
She warned that such violations would hamper the implementation of the peace agreement, particularly in the area of governance.
The workshop was organized by Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring and Verification Mechanism (CTSAMVM).
According to the 2018 revitalized peace agreement, women were allotted 35 per cent representation at all levels of government through affirmative action, however this allocation according to the activist has been violated.