Vice President Rebecca Nyandeng De Mabior speaking during an event on Friday, March 6, 2020, ahead of International Women’s Day | Credit | Oxfam South Sudan

The Vice President for Gender and Youth Cluster has called on local leaders to help her stop harmful traditional practices that hinder women from progressing.

Harmful traditional practices are forms of violence committed primarily against women and girls in certain communities for so long that they are considered, or presented by perpetrators, as part of accepted cultural practices.

They include forced or early marriage, ‘honor’ based violence, female genital mutilation or cutting, among other practices that deny women the right to property.

UN reports indicate these forms of violence, including rape, have been persistent in South Sudan.

VP Rebecca Nyandeng promises to collaborate with chiefs and community leaders to address such issues.

She says the culture of impunity when it comes to violence against women must be stopped.

“We must take action at the policy level, we must enact laws that protect survivors and punish the perpetrators regardless of their positions, ranks or influence,” Nyandeng stated.

Experts have attributed South Sudan’s surge in sexual-related violence to the breakdown in the rule of law, the destruction of livelihoods, forced displacement, and food insecurity, after years of civil war.

“I call upon the legislature to endorse the anti-GBV law and ensure that it’s effectively implemented,” she stressed.

“I pledge to work closely with traditional chiefs and community leaders to address harmful practices against our women.”