Legislative and Policy Analysis on Access to Justice for Women in South Sudan
After the conflicts experienced in South Sudan, it is essential to address obstacles to women’s access to justice, reducing discrimination and gender-based violence. Recognizing women’s rights and means to offer justice is crucial for peacebuilding and development in the country. The United Nations is trying to solve this problem through the law in South Sudan.
As part of the reflection on and evaluation of the UN’s provision of the rule of law assistance, a mapping exercise was done to measure the extent of the primary UN entities involved in access to justice. Settings are focusing on girl’s empowerment and gender equality. A growing number of multi-country policy and legal instructions. The main areas of concern were, first, discriminatory policy and legal frameworks. In South Sudan, the discrimination rate was high. Some laws still consider men as the head of the home, and women must obey their husbands (Lacey 2013). For instance, women were prohibited from getting a passport or visa without the consent of the man. Also, there were specific jobs that women could not do. Therefore, various programs have been created.
To enhance justice, girls and women should know and understand their rights. Legal empowerment of women centers to create access to justice. It improves the quality of justice they receive. Through the empowerment, both girls and women can demand their rights and change to society. For instance, the IDLO program targets women to access justice through fighting discrimination, target civil organizations to promote legal empowerment, and creating targeting communities to promote women’s rights and participation.
Second, improved national capacities to deliver justice to women. The role of this policy is to offer justice to national and local institutions. Legislative policy widely contributes to achieving equality and development outcomes in education, politics, health, and employment (Lyman 2013). This policy’s relevant outcome includes creating activities with the customary justice system to support women, targeting state institutions on local and national levels to protect women, and building society organizations that offer legal assistance and supports fairness. Third, South Sudan has strengthened the legal and policy framework to create fairness. There are gender-responsive laws that commit to promoting equality in the state. The framework contributes to changes in social norms in favor of girls and women. Also, it enhances successful strategies for informed policy and decision making for women.
In conclusion, there are many challenges women face while seeking justice. Therefore, addressing them requires comprehensive and coordinated efforts to reach the best solution. Various policies and frameworks help identify the disputes women face, how to address them, and where they can get help.
Bibliography
Lacey, Lizzie. 2013. “Women For Cows: An Analysis Of Abductions Of Women In South Sudan”. Agenda 27 (4): 91-108. doi:10.1080/10130950.2013.861685.
Lyman, Princeton N. 2013. “Sudan–South Sudan: The Unfinished Tasks”. American Foreign Policy Interests 35 (6): 333-338. doi:10.1080/10803920.2013.855568.