Life for girls in cattle camps is not easy.
They only thing they do is work, cook, and clean while the boys sleep, explains Hellen Kulong, a 45-year-old mother of four from Gemeiza in Terekeka County.
She was among dozens of women participating in a symposium designed to bridge divides and build peace between stakeholders in Central Equatoria State, organized with support from the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
Many issues were discussed during the three-day event, including interconnected challenges, such as land disputes, poor road infrastructure, lack of basic services, recurring clashes between farmers and cattle herders, youth unemployment and other pressures.
However, women participants seized the opportunity to raise concerns about the immense impact of insecurity and other challenges on their daily lives and futures.
A hot topic was how women bear the brunt of economic pressures.
“The girls want to keep going to school, but they can’t because they don’t have enough money,” says Mary Sadia, a women’s representative from Terekeka.
“When girls can’t access education, they remain trapped in cycles of poverty that make their families increasingly desperate. Women become valuable because people know they can get cows as a dowry payment, and they don’t care about how girls will make it through.”
This economic situation creates a chain reaction of exploitation. Young men who view women as commodities develop aggressive behaviors that spill over into conflicts with neighboring communities.
The breakdown is most visible in cattle camps, where gender roles are rigidly enforced from childhood.
“Boys learn that they deserve things, and girls learn that they have to do things for others,” says Mary Sadia.
Mary Lyiyon from Gemeiza Payam explains how basic needs drive larger conflicts.
“Without formal land policies and adequate infrastructure, communities compete for scarce resources, including access to water and undeveloped land. This creates disputes that frequently turn violent,” she says.
“Young people with limited opportunities resort to conflict, go to cattle camps to get rich, and rely on stealing as a source of income.”
Despite these obstacles, women have created solidarity across tribal lines through church and community groups.
“As women, they don’t have a sense of tribalism. They see themselves as one. When one cries, we all cry,” says Lily Kaitale.
Gatherings, like the symposium, provide women with a platform where their voices can be heard — something not available at the community level, she adds.
“When we talk about peace, we need to look critically at concrete actions that can be implemented to change the narrative and ensure all voices are heard,” stressed Victor Fasama, UNMISS Civil Affairs Officer.
The symposium ended with resolutions calling for comprehensive land policies, livestock management, strengthened law enforcement, and infrastructure investments, including mobile schools and healthcare facilities. To decrease forced migration and resource competition, participants strongly endorsed water reservoirs and catchment systems.
But for the women participants, the real work begins when they return to their communities, where children still need food and education, where young people still see conflict as their only source of income, and peace remains absent.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).