The role of men and boys in achieving gender equality*

*This short piece is a slightly amended version of my notes for a speech delivered at the Mundri International Women's Day rally on behalf of the MRDA Centre for Peace and Democracy studies. Apologies if it thus seems heavy on rhetoric and light on statistics or academic objectivity. Feedback, as ever, is welcome

Peace is more than the absence of conflict. Peace is about justice, equality and the choice to forgo violence, the choice to break a cycle which could trap us all forever. Violence is by no means limited to the physical damage inflicted by man on man and all too often by man against woman, violence is also in the deep corruption that deprives human beings of equal respect, fair treatment and access to water, to food, to education, to work. It is relatively easy to confront violent behavior (whilst potentially dangerous) but how do we tackle the unseen culture of structural violence^?

Change starts within; when we take responsibility for deciding who we want to be and what consequences we want to produce in the world. If we accept the limitations we are confronted with, if we choose to believe that men can only dominate rather than assuming partnership on an equal footing with women, that women should only stay in the home, as machines for reproduction and service, then the violence that results will continue to poison our societies. True development depends on the full and active participation of all, the shared responsibility. The late President of South Sudan, Dr John Garang*, in his speech upon the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, called Girls in South Sudan and in the world ‘the marginalized of the marginalized’; those most excluded from participating, from contributing, to achieving their full potential.

Women are half or more of the population of the world. Without the sacrifices of women we as men would not be here, the sacrifice of our Mothers, sisters, wives, cousins, friends. The people who fetch water for, cook meals for and raise men, and yet their time in education is cut short by bias towards boys, early pregnancy and the time constraints of domestic servitude. In addition women suffer physical abuse, sexual harassment and rape, the trauma of which can ruin lives and prevent them claiming their deserved roles at the heart of development. Fear can stop them from trying for me. Fear of humiliation. Fear of ignorance. Fear of violence. And yet there are women in Mundri and beyond who defy these circumstances to better themselves and make substantial contributions to society; as students, as educators, as businesswomen, as politicians. They choose to strive for the best regardless of the status quo. Dr. Margaret Itu of the Government of South Sudan chose the occasion of International Women’s Day to urge young Southern Sudanese women to educate themselves for medical careersl to not drop out of school, to persevere in order to make a contribution to their society by learning how to save lives. This woman is a role model; a humanitarian, a leader, and she is far from alone.

Men too can make choices. Violence is a choice that some men make, not a fact of nature, not the will of god, a choice that some men make, and there is no excuse for it. Unfortunately privilege over women is something all men are born with and not enough chose to challenge or change. When we choose to disrespect the work women do in the home and fail to ascribe it its true value, when we choose not to help share the load of that work as if we are superior. When we ignore and mock women’s educational aspirations or legal rights+ or see women as only there to serve our sexual needs, rather than as full and equal humans and full and equal citizens, we are perpetuating a cycle of deeper violence against women, against our society, against our own future.

I believe this cycle of violence, both direct and cultural, is motivated by fear; fear of the unknown, fear of change, fear of powerlessness. We are all afraid, but together we are infinitely more powerful than when we, as individuals, use violence to preserve our own personal status or fight for what we believe is ours, and then to defend it against those we are afraid will undermine us. As long as violence is the language in our hearts, we will always be afraid.

Privilege is no more a fact of nature than violence, nor the will of god. It is the product and evidence of a deeper culture of violence towards women that we, women but especially men, share a responsibility for changing. The beautiful thing is that we can all start that change within us, this day, this very moment. Just as Peace is far more than the absence of physical violence, Equality and Justice for women are not to be found in the presence of laws and policies alone. We can choose to see women for the equal human beings they are, change our attitudes, change our behaviors, and then challenge others whom we hear and see casually dismissing women, to support our brothers to see the error of their ways and help our sisters create a clear pathway to fulfillment, the opportunity to demonstrate the worth we already know they have, so we can rise together for the world can watch.


^My usage of the terms direct, structural and cultural violence are drawn from the work of Professor Johan Galtung, pioneer of Peace Studies and founder of the Transcend Network, find out more at http://transcend.org/ (I will try soon to blog more extensively on peace work)

* John Garang was a member of the Ananya 1 rebel movement of the first Sudanese civil war who again Mutined from the Sudanese armed forces to found the SPLA in 1983 and was the figurehead of the military and political movement through the second war and peace process until his untimely demise in a helicopter crash only 21 days after being sworn in as Vice-President of the Government of National Unity in Khartoum and president elect of the Government of South Sudan

+Couldn't resist adding one statistic here, according to UNFPA South Sudan 90% of civil and criminal law cases in the country, including some to do with rape and child abuse (including sex with and impregnation of underage girls) are still dealt with by customary law courts presided over by Chiefs. Those courts are acknowledged as being weak in accountability, respect for INternational Human Rights norms and in effectively protecting, promoting and fulfilling the rights of Women.