In this blog, Lona Elia Morgan and Livia Oliver discuss the concept of gender and conflicting perceptions of the concept among South Sudanese communities. Based on their extensive gender work, they explore different perceptions around gender and the related impact on conflict dynamics, as well as on aid programming, providing insights on how aid actors can change these perceptions and mitigate risks on aid interventions.
In South Sudan, gender sensitivity is increasingly being integrated into the design and implementation of humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding activities, reflecting the recognition that gender awareness is a prerequisite for effective programming. Despite the increased use of the term ‘gender’ among aid actors, however, there are different understandings of what gender means, both within the aid sector and among South Sudanese communities.[1] These varied, and not always aligned, perceptions of gender can undermine the effectiveness of aid programming when this misalignment creates tensions within households and communities, or between communities. Having a more nuanced understanding of the different perspectives and understandings of gender norms and roles within South Sudanese society will help aid actors to design and implement programmes that reflect context-specific gender norms. This will allow them to work collaboratively with communities to mitigate gender norms that are harmful to women/girls and men/boys, while also building on positive gender norms. This blog highlights the different perceptions of gender norms in South Sudan and explores the implications of such perceptions on gender-related programming that seeks to garner the support of both women/girls and men/boys. Finally, it provides some conflict sensitivity considerations.
Gender and South Sudan: norms and perceptions
Gender norms and roles are context and culturally specific and define what a man or a woman can or cannot do, what work they must or must not do, whom they can or cannot marry or what specific social obligations they have. In South Sudan, these norms are usually unwritten, embedded in the customary laws of the various communities, and often do not align with South Sudan’s 2011 constitution, particularly Part 2 – Bill of Rights, which guarantees that women and men have equal rights under law.
Protracted crisis are often accompanied by the re-defining and re-negotiating of gender roles and norms both during and after conflict, and South Sudan is no different from other crisis. During times of crisis, women and girls have taken on roles that are normally associated with men and boys, which provided them with legitimate opportunities to actively participate in decision making fora or other activities they usually would not participate in. When the conflict or crisis ends, however, women and girls often find themselves being pushed to return to their more ‘traditional’ roles, something many are unwilling to do. This can create tensions within households and communities, and aid workers need to be sensitive to the potential for programmes to exacerbate, rather than mitigate, these tensions in South Sudan.
The majority of South Sudanese communities are patriarchal, where men dominate social, cultural and political decision making, and women and girls are relegated to domestic work and childcare. How patriarchy influences gender norms and roles in South Sudan is varied and should not be seen as monolithic. For example, some communities practice ‘widow inheritance’, whereby widows are seen as ‘property’ that is inherited by the deceased husband’s brothers, leaving widows with little, if any, control over resources they had jointly built with their late husbands.[2] Other communities, the payment of bride price often reduces women and girls to ‘property’ that can generate wealth for their families, and the decision on who the girl is to marry is often made by her male relatives, who may, or may not consult with the girl or take her preferences into consideration. Another example is that despite the 2011 transitional constitution, in most communities women and girls are not able to own or inherit property as individuals. This reflects the cultural norm, often supported by customary law, that when a woman marries, she and her children become part of her husband’s family, and therefore, any land or property she inherits comes under her husband’s control, rather than remaining under the control of her birth family. The continued use of these practices and norms, often supported by customary law, highlights the tensions within South Sudan’s legal system where the constitution seeks to enshrine and protect the rights of women and girls, whereas customary law continues to reflect and prioritise the rights of men and boys, often to the detriment of women and girls.
We are witnessing short-term changes to some of these traditional gender roles, especially during and after crises and conflicts. In these instances, by necessity some women engage in what is considered ‘men’s work’, such as providing for the family, decision-making responsibility, and acting as heads of households when the men are gone for long periods of time.[3] While aid actors have tried to capitalise on this temporary change in women’s roles to promote gender equality and reduce SGBV, they face many challenges, as South Sudanese society has resisted widespread changes to strongly entrenched gender norms.
The perceptions of gender and related conflict sensitive implications
In South Sudan gender is often perceived by local communities, as well as aid actors and government officials, to be a women’s ‘only’ issue. Meanwhile, women are often only portrayed as victims and lacking agency, while men are usually presented only as perpetrators and powerful actors. This overlooks the complex and nuanced roles, relationships and interactions between men and women within South Sudanese society. Using an intersectional approach that also considers whether someone is young, old, urban, rural, wealthy, poor, able bodied, people with disabilities, or belonging to a specific identity group is critical to having a nuanced and sophisticated understanding of gender in the South Sudan context.[4] Finally, using only a women-focused approach to policy and programing risks creating the perception that aid actors favour women and girls over men and boys, and in a deeply patriarchal society such as South Sudan, could alienate men and boys and make them more resistant to supporting or championing women’s rights, or seeing themselves as victims of SGBV or gender discrimination. For example, in the case of sexual and gender violence, much of the focus is on supporting women survivors and helping them to overcome the considerable social stigma and shame that women who have been raped or sexually assaulted face. What is less known, and focused on, is that men and boys have also experienced rape and sexual assault, and they can face even more stigma and shame than women – their masculinity can be called into question. Using a more holistic approach to addressing sexual and gender based violence could help to reduce the perception that gender programming is only for women and girls.
Gender-focused programming has made significant progress in creating awareness around gender equality and women’s rights. There are risks, however, particularly if there have been limited efforts to engage with men, or when gender equality is interpreted as ‘zero-sum’, where gains for women are perceived as eroding men’s position or rights. This can fuel gender-based violence that is rooted in and seeks to maintain entrenched patriarchal beliefs and practices.[5] For instance, women and girls attending women’s rights trainings or participating in gender equality awareness-building programmes might face a violent backlash if they seek to claim or exercise their rights within their community. This is because men have tended to perceive women claiming their rights as a direct challenge to their own power and culturally defined roles.[6] In addition, cultural norms, especially in rural areas, assign household chores based on gender, with women and girls often responsible for certain farming tasks, as well as household chores, including fetching water and cooking, and caregiving, such as looking after children, people with disabilities, the sick and elderly. As a result, women often have to balance off opportunity costs when seeking to work or participate equally in decision-making process at the community level, as they can face criticism if they are unable to fulfil their household responsibilities due to their other activities.
Gender norms in South Sudan often place men at the centre of power, decision-making, and resource allocation, with women and girls relegated to domestic chores at home and having limited options for engaging in public life and decision-making spaces. In many communities, masculine norms in South Sudan discourage men and boys from showing emotions or seeking to support their wives in their caregiving responsibilities. Men and boys are taught to be strong, to protect and to provide, and they can face community pressure or expectations that prevents them from stepping out of their ascribed masculine role and behaviours to share responsibilities more equitably within the household. These same gender norms can also pressure men and boys to conform to behaviours and roles that can perpetuate notions of militarised or violent masculinities.[7] As a result, it is important for aid actors to adopt an intersectional lens when developing gender programmes in South Sudan, and ensure they are considering various factors when seeking to address gender inequalities.
Promoting gender equality without sufficiently considering the risks and vulnerability that men and boys face, such as the loss of livestock, limited employment or livelihood opportunities or other events that can affect their social status. This can create frustrations and leave men and boys vulnerable to being drawn into violence, criminal acts and addiction, engaging in domestic violence, or in some cases, joining gangs in Juba (such as the ‘Toronto Boys’, who are involved in assault and petty theft). There is a high risk that in response to a perceived “loss of masculinity” or gender programming’s challenge to the tenants of patriarchal power structures there could be an increase incident of violence targeting women and girls. To engage in the South Sudan context in a gender- and conflict-sensitive way, therefore, it is crucial to consider all people‘s roles and status in society – not only women’s – as well as their needs and interests and the divergent ways resources are utilised, leveraged and shared.
Conflict Sensitivity Considerations for gender Programming
Ensuring that gender considerations are integrated into programme’s assessments and analyses will contribute to agencies having a better understanding of the needs and vulnerabilities of both women and men, as well as the causes of violence and inequalities between and among them.[8] A gender sensitive approach requires that women and men are involved in discussions on, have input into and are listened to when designing programmes have an impact on their lives. To effectively address gender inequality, agencies and donors must ensure that they are using an intersectional approach and considering diverse and multiple factors, such as education, geographical locations, ethnicity, age, income, family status, and religion, rather than seeing South Sudanese men and women as homogenous groups.
Nuanced and effective gender programming provides space for women and men to have equal opportunities to participate in decision making, humanitarian and development programmes and to equal access to available resources. Challenging some of the negative cultural norms requires a holistic approach, and must be supported by members of local communities in order to avoid exacerbating tensions and to achieve sustainable change. To enable this holistic approach, gender sensitive programming should not only consider the needs and priorities of women and girls, but also take into consideration those of men, boys, ethnic minorities, both able bodied individuals and persons with disability, gender minorities, etc. As noted by the World Bank, however, programmes in South Sudan sometimes fail to address varied layers of discrimination or transform and challenge norms and intersectional dynamics.[9] By failing to identify and address existing gaps, these programmes can unintentionally worsen gender inequality, and undermine South Sudanese women’s own efforts to claim their rights.
[1] Gender is often misunderstood to be synonymous with ‘women’, whereas it considers the range of social, cultural and political norms related to the roles and expected behaviour of both women/girls and men/boys.
[2] Not all communities in South Sudan practice widow inheritance, however, its continued practice highlights the challenges women and girls face when trying to assert the rights they are guaranteed under South Sudan’s constitution.
[3] CSRF (2017), ‘Gender norms, conflict, and aid’, 11 Feb, Conflict Sensitivity Resource Facility.
[4] CSRF (2022),’Gender norms, conflict sensitivity and transition in South Sudan’, 18 July, Conflict Sensitivity Resource Facility.
[5] Women for Women International (2022), ‘Violence against women in South Sudan,’
[6] It must be noted too that this view is also held by other women in local communities and could be seen as an internalization of patriarchal norms.
[7] Ibid. Further citations: Bubenzer F and Lacey E (2013), ‘Opportunities for Gender Justice and Reconciliation in South Sudan’, The Institute for Justice and Reconciliation, Policy Brief Number 12, July.
[8] CSRF (2022)
[9] World Bank (2020), ‘Getting it right: Strengthening gender outcomes in South Sudan,’ July 2020
