President Salva Kiir has been sharply criticized for violating a provision of the peace agreement by not appointing women among the six state governors from his camp.

 Kiir issued a decree Monday appointing governors for eight of the country’s 10 states under the state power-sharing arrangement.

Of the newly named state governors, only one — Sarah Cleto Rial of Western Ghar el Ghazal state — is a woman.  Sarah was nominated by Riek Machar’s party, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO), which got three states.

All the six governors nominated by Kiir’s camp are male.

The peace agreement says 35 percent of posts in the new transitional government are to be allocated to women.

Betty Sunday, a renowned women’s rights activist, said the president’s side violated the provision that grants 35% of all public offices to women by only appointing male governors.

Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Tuesday, Betty urged Kiir to dismiss two male governors from his camp and replace them with women.

"It came as a surprise because President Kiir has always been praising the capabilities of women. But now he has excluded women, even though the agreement demands that they should be represented,” she said.

The woman activist commended Machar’s SPLM-IO party for appointing a woman as the new governor of Western Bahr el Ghazal State.

Ameer Deng, head of the women’s bloc, urged the president’s camp to respect the terms of the peace deal, which stipulate that 35 percent of posts are allocated to women.

In March, Vice President Rebecca Nyandeng de Mabior vowed to ensure that at least three women are appointed as state governors to fulfill the 35 percent share of women provided for in the peace agreement.