Participants at the workshop on safeguarding women's rights. (Photo: Courtesy)

The Chairperson of the South Sudan Women Advocates Association is calling for more female judges in customary law courts to protect the rights of women in the country.

Sohila Deng was speaking during a one-day workshop on safeguarding women’s rights at the traditional law courts, on Friday, August 11.

She said the absence of female chiefs in traditional courts and the use of customary laws to settle family disputes including divorce, inheritance, and custody, are the major causes of all social problems facing women.

Ms. Deng also appeals for the enactment of Family Law which must enshrine women’s rights in marriage-related issues and inheritance.

She stated that failure to pass the family law by the state will deprive women of their human rights and prolong their misery in society.

“When we talk about a woman’s right, we always find it in the family law, but unfortunately, so far, South Sudan has not ratified the family law,” she said.

“Most of the problems that women face in society are the result of customary laws Most of the judges in customary courts are men.”

“Therefore, when a woman faces any grievances with regard to inheritance, custody, or divorce, she resorts to customary law recognized by the constitution because there is no specialized law. Unfortunately, there is a mismatch between customary law and statuary law.”

The workshop brought together more than 41 principals including four women chiefs from different parts of customary courts in Juba.

Female lawyers, government officials, and activists, also participated in the workshop that aims to enhance the participation of women in the chiefs’ courts.

The participants also discussed several issues where women’s rights are often infringed upon, including the right to divorce, and property inheritance.

Achol Kur is a female traditional chief from Abyei Administrative Area, who participated in the workshop.

She said she has been handling family cases amicably since her appointment as chief three years ago.

According to her, some of the cases she presides over in Abyei, are women demanding divorce over husbands’ unilateral decisions to marry other wives.

“In most of the divorce cases that come to us, the wife is requesting divorce because the husband married another woman without informing her,” he said in the workshop.

“This behavior of the husband forces the woman to ask for a divorce. Some time ago, I was solving a similar case, where a mother of six children asked for a divorce because of polygamy.”

“But we held sessions ordering the husband to appease his wife. Because in the event of divorce, it is difficult for her to sponsor six children.”

“So, we always try to solve any case that comes to us in court, and if the two parties are not satisfied with the ruling, we advise them to go to statutory court.”

Meanwhile, Francis Amum, a High Court judge, appealed for the harmonization of the customary and statutory laws in the country.

Judge Amum says the constitution is the supreme law of the country and that its provisions must prevail over all other laws.

“In South Sudan, we have the statutory law and customary law, and in application, you get that it is inconsistent between statuary law and customary law, and these are the gaps that need to be harmonized in our legal system,” Amum told Eye Radio in a sideline interview at the workshop.

Customary Law, as the judge defines, is the body of norms and practices believed by a community as a code of conduct.

The laws, often undocumented, are derived from traditional culture and customs of particular indigenous communities.

Meanwhile, Statutory laws are written laws derived from the constitution, child act, and other laws.

“Reading them together with women rights, where you get the gap between statutory law and customary law, there is need to bridge the gap between the customs and women right,” Amum said further.

“The constitution is the supreme law of the country, and the provision of the constitution must prevail over all other laws in the country.”

The workshop was organized by Women Advocate Association in South Sudan and supported by PAX Peace for You.

South Sudan has ratified the African Union’s Protocol to the African Charter on the Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, also known as the Maputo Protocol, after years of delay.

The Maputo Protocol signals a commitment to gender equality and obliges the country to adopt effective policies and strategies to ensure the protocol makes a difference in people’s lives.