Amnesty International has condemned the killing of a 20-year-old girl on Friday in South Sudan’s Eastern Lakes State for refusing to marry a man her family had selected for her saying forced marriage is a human rights violation.
The rights group Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn and Great Lakes Region Joan Nyanyuki in a press statement termed the incident as inhumane and called on the government to hold those responsible to account.
“Forcing someone to marry against their will is a clear violation of South Sudan’s own constitution as well as its international human rights obligations. The marriage and killing are not only illegal but also inhumane. We call on the government to immediately hold the responsible individuals to account,” she said.
Nyanyuki added that the practice of forced marriage denies women the opportunity to positively contribute to society as they are seen as commodities.
“The patriarchal practice of forcing young girls and women to marry is a cruel manifestation of the large inequality between men and women in South Sudan. Rather than being resourceful and inspirational leaders and members of society, women and girls are treated as communal commodities,” she added.
The rights group called on South Sudan government to take urgent steps to end early, forced and child marriage and to ensure that individuals perpetrating this heinous form of gender-based violence and violating the country’s laws are brought to book.
Eastern Lakes state information minister Taban Abel told Radio Tamazuj last Friday that Nyaluk Magorok was beaten to death by her brothers for turning down a marriage proposal.
He added that two people, the father, and brother of the girl are in police custody.
According to Article 15 of the South Sudan constitution, any person of marriageable age has the right to form a family, and Article 17 guarantees women and girls the right to consent to marriage.