{"id":41166,"date":"2025-11-14T12:12:31","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T10:12:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/?p=41166"},"modified":"2025-11-14T12:12:31","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T10:12:31","slug":"women-still-sidelined-in-political-party-leadership-political-parties-council","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/14\/women-still-sidelined-in-political-party-leadership-political-parties-council\/","title":{"rendered":"Women still sidelined in political party leadership \u2013 Political Parties Council"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Alan Clement<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Women remain largely excluded from leadership positions in South Sudan\u2019s political parties despite the constitutional requirement for at least 35 percent female representation, according to the Political Parties Council (PPC).<\/p>\n

Deputy Chairperson Lola Loduro James said that while women are visible in party structures, most occupy low-level or administrative positions with few holding key decision-making roles.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmong the 29 registered political parties, almost all women serve as treasurers,\u201d Loduro said during a recent workshop for journalists in Juba.<\/p>\n

She noted that despite perceptions that women are better financial stewards, top leadership positions such as chairpersons, secretaries general and deputies remain dominated by men.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey say women keep money well that they won\u2019t take anything. But when you look at chairpersons, secretaries-general, or deputies, they are mostly men.\u201d<\/p>\n

Loduro also revealed that only three political parties in South Sudan are currently led by women one by Agnes Lukudu, another by Hon. Nyibol, and another by the late Teresa Sirisio, who passed away recently.<\/p>\n

The Deputy Chairperson described the situation as \u201csymbolic representation,\u201d not meaningful participation, urging political parties to move beyond tokenism.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe talk about 35 percent representation, but when you go deeper, you find that women are there just to fulfill the numbers,\u201d she said adding, \u201cThat is not transformative participation. It\u2019s symbolic, and it must change.\u201d<\/p>\n

South Sudan\u2019s Transitional Constitution and the Revitalized Peace Agreement both mandate at least 35 percent representation of women in public institutions. However, implementation has been slow, and women activists have repeatedly warned that parties often appoint women to meet quotas without giving them real decision-making power.<\/p>\n

With the country preparing for its first national elections since independence in 2011, women\u2019s groups have called for stronger enforcement of gender provisions and for political parties to enshrine the quota in their own constitutions.<\/p>\n

The PPC Deputy Chairperson urged political parties to adhere to the affirmative action provisions of both the Transitional Constitution and the Revitalized Peace Agreement and urged women to take an active role by joining and registering with political parties, saying many complain about exclusion without being formal members.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you want to participate in politics, whether you\u2019re in media or civil society, you must register in a political party,\u201d she adding \u201cThat is where decisions are made.\u201d<\/p>\n

Loduro further challenged party leaders to create conditions that enable women\u2019s full participation, including flexible meeting schedules and childcare arrangements.<\/p>\n

\u201cAsk yourself will your husband allow you to attend late meetings? Will parties provide daycares for mothers? Or will they send women to make tea while decisions are being made?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are the realities we must address,\u201d she stressed.<\/p>\n

Despite the challenges, Loduro praised the PPC\u2019s gender composition, saying the council itself is 40 percent female; far higher than the minimum requirement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Political Parties Council is a gender-sensitive institution,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are 40 percent women and 60 percent men, exceeding the 36 percent threshold. That shows progress, but we know there is still a long way to go,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Loduro also appealed to the media to amplify women\u2019s voices and promote positive role models to inspire younger generations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe media must play a key role speak out, mentor younger women journalists, and open spaces for women leaders. We need the media to challenge stereotypes and support women who are trying to make change,\u201d she emphasized.<\/p>\n

South Sudan\u2019s peace agreement and constitutional reforms guarantee women\u2019s participation across all sectors of public life. However, implementation remains slow, and women activists have repeatedly called for stronger enforcement of gender provisions within political institutions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are not asking to compete with men. We are saying we can contribute to nation-building. A society in which women\u2019s voices cannot be heard is not less women; it is less human,\u201d she concluded.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Alan Clement Women remain largely excluded from leadership positions in South Sudan\u2019s political parties despite the constitutional requirement for at least 35 percent female representation, according to the Political Parties Council (PPC). Deputy Chairperson Lola Loduro James said that while women are visible in party structures, most occupy low-level[Read More…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":41167,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[115,79],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-juba","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/WOMEN.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41166","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41166"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41166\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41168,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41166\/revisions\/41168"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}