Abstract
The study explores the role of women in peacebuilding processes in South Sudan's Equatoria region from the start of the Anya-Nya II conflict in 1983 to the present day. The end of what was one of Africa’s longest-running civil wars, and the birth of the world’s youngest nation in July 2011 offers an opportunity for reflection on peacebuilding in a nascent African country formed out of secession; and for the various roles that women, who make up about half of the population, played during the country’s liberation struggle and in the post-armed conflict aftermath. The study's entry point is that the peacebuilding practices of women in South Sudan vary across location and context, which affects their contributions to peacebuilding. The focus on the urban-rural divide, as opposed to a national-local divide, highlights the reality of a non-homogenous 'local' and demonstrates the different ways in which urban and rural identities shape political participation and perceptions of peace processes.
The study explores the distinction between urban and rural women’s realities and contributions to peacebuilding in South Sudan, looking at the impact that conflict – and peace – has had on the experiences of urban and rural women peacebuilders as distinct groups; and seeks to understand how rural and urban women can work together to improve peacebuilding processes. The research uses feminist and conflict transformation approaches to an exploration of peacebuilding initiatives by means of a comparative analysis between women building peace in Juba, Central Equatoria State, and Ikotos, Eastern Equatoria State, as contexts for urban and rural peacebuilding. The design and methodology of the study is qualitative and interpretive in nature, using a mixed methods approach comprising desktop research, structured and unstructured interviews with respondents, non-participant observation, and data collection and analysis.
The contribution of the research to the scholarship on peacebuilding in South Sudan includes taking existing knowledge and findings on issues such as the gap between top-down and bottom-up peacebuilding; the need for women to be involved in peacebuilding processes and programmes; the evolution of gender quotas in South Sudan’s political arena; and women’s participation and influence in post-independence peace agreements, and building on this through amplifying the voices and lived experiences of rural women and urban women building peace, not only as
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distinct groupings, but also as change-agents and change-makers. Through directly comparing urban and rural peacebuilding, where previously women’s contributions have focused mainly on national-level peace processes in the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement with Sudan and the post-independence peace agreements of 2015 and 2018, the study offers important insights into the debate in the literature around the expectation of women to speak as a collective.
The study provides an important opportunity to advance an understanding in the literature of the diversity and experiences of women peacebuilders, which has significance, not only for South Sudan, but for other deadly conflict situations. A particular contribution is in exploring the urban/rural divide, which is typically not a focus of policy discussions in the context of women's contribution to peacebuilding. This shift from a national-local to an urban-rural framework can offer a perspective on peacebuilding that is more nuanced and spatially grounded, and that does not rely on the traditional national-local perspective. By emphasizing the urban/rural divide, the study could help peacebuilders design interventions that are more spatially targeted. The research contributes to documenting and highlighting more individual voices from both the urban and rural level, and shining a spotlight on what rural-based peacebuilders view as important; thereby amplifying the concerns of women at the grassroots level of peacebuilding.