Hon Nyanthon demands equal leadership rights for women in South Sudan
By Binia Elizabeth
The Chairperson of the National Parties Alliance (NPA), Hon Nyanthon Deng Rou, has issued a strong call for South Sudan to honor its constitutional promise of equal rights for women, stressing that leadership must be based on merit, vision, and competence.
In a powerful statement Hon. Deng reminded the nation that the Transitional Constitution guarantees full equality between men and women. Article 16, she emphasized, affirms that women “shall be accorded full and equal dignity of the person with men, and have the right to participate equally with men in public life.”
“Our Constitution does not say that a woman cannot be a leader. Nowhere does it say she must step aside for her husband, or that her right to serve depends on a man’s approval” Nyanthon said
Despite these legal guarantees, she said, the reality for women seeking leadership remains constrained by cultural and patriarchal barriers. Women are too often questioned about their marital status, pressured to defer to men, or judged by their relationships as wives, daughters, or girlfriends of influential figures.
“This is not only unfair, it is unconstitutional”she warned.
Hon Nyanthon highlighted the pivotal role South Sudanese women have played in the country’s survival and liberation, from mobilizing communities during the war to holding families together in times of hunger and displacement.
“To now deny them leadership is to deny South Sudan its full strength”she said, adding that women’s leadership should not be reduced to inheritance or family connections.
The NPA chairperson also criticized the failure to fully implement the 35 percent quota for women in government as promised in the peace agreements.
“Equality is not a favour, it is the law,” she stressed.
She further added that when women ask for leadership positions, they are not asking for sympathy but rather they are claiming what is already theirs by constitutional right
The chairperson of the NPA further urged political parties, Parliament, and communities to end the practice of measuring women’s leadership through their husbands or families.
She pointed to recent appointments, such as of Hon. dut Mayardit, being named Special Envoy, as an indication that women can be entrusted with responsibility.
“South Sudan belongs to all of us men and women. Our future will only be secure when we walk side by side, not one behind the other” she said
Additionally she said South Sudan can only reach its full potential when women and men build the nation together as equals.
“It is time to live by our Constitution and allow women to stand in front to govern, negotiate, legislate, and lead,” she said
