Forty women from Warrap State’s Greater Gogrial area have completed a three-day training workshop on advocacy and transformational leadership in the town of Kuajok.
The training, organised by Pact South Sudan, concluded on Sunday. It aimed to equip women from civil society, youth, and faith-based groups with skills to better lobby for political representation at national, state, and local government levels.
South Sudan, a country facing significant economic and political fragility, has historically seen low levels of women’s participation in governance.
The lead facilitator, Lual Malueth, told Radio Tamzuj that the workshop focused on practical skills and knowledge.
“The objective was to capacitate the women, to empower them with knowledge on advocacy and lobbying, public speaking, communication, and networking,” he said.
“We also gave them insight into gender-based violence [GBV], referral pathways, causes of GBV, and leadership styles like autocratic and transformational leadership,” Malueth added.
He explained that in a fragile context like South Sudan, empowering women is key to tackling community issues.
“This is the reason we empower them to be able to tackle issues affecting them, including school drop-outs for both boys and girls. They should be able to lobby community leaders to provide necessary materials and finances for learning institutions and to stop gender-based violence in schools,” he said.
Participants welcomed the training.
One trainee, Christine Akur, said it helped her understand how to claim her political and social rights in accordance with South Sudan’s constitution.
“I have benefited from lobbying and empowerment skills. Lobbying is the way to convince the community or political leaders for women to get their rights,” she said.
“My message to women who didn’t get this chance is for them to seek their rights through a convincing way, to talk to people in a way to win their interest. These are the skills we have learnt and will share with others,” Akur added.
Another participant, Cicilia Adeng, said she gained crucial knowledge on handling GBV cases.
“We have acquired knowledge of how one should handle gender-based violence cases and how victims should get medical services. We learnt how to reach actors in the health sector for support,” she said.
The workshop was held at the Kuajok Catholic Church premises.