Did you know that a hundred women out of nearly five
hundred yearly enrolments graduate every year from the University of Rumbek in
Lakes State and Dr. John Garang Memorial University of Science and Technology
in Jonglei State? This is according to the academic registrars at both
institutions.
Although this number sounds small, there seem to be more
Dinka families who consider the education of women as important as that of
men—something that was extremely rare shortly before South Sudan gained
independence.
But this change comes with challenges for some of these
women.
Traditional beliefs and societal norms continue to shape
perceptions about women and education in Dinka culture. Consequently, women
prioritize their roles as wives and mothers over their educational
achievements.
Traditionally, society raises women to excel in domestic
tasks like cooking, cleaning, and family care, viewing education as secondary.
Many families don’t see the value in investing in their
daughters' education. Instead, they place a high priority on finding suitable
husbands for them at a young age.
Consequently, society often discourages women from
pursuing higher education, with some pressured to marry early and start a
family.
But some of those women who have pursued higher education
say they’re finding it difficult to find a life partner.
According to these women, they face resistance in many
parts of the Dinka community that hold traditional values, such as putting
marriage before education.
Achol Ayoor Pandek graduated from Dr. John Garang
Memorial University of Science and Technology with a bachelor’s degree in
environmental studies in 2023.
“For us educated girls, and especially Jieng community,
educated men run away from us. Only our families know our worth,” the
27-year-old, who works for a humanitarian organization, told Mingkaman FM.
“But men, even guys that graduate with us, will say that
we are old and run off to marry young, illiterate girls.
“For change to happen, men must accept to marry educated
girls and stop running away from us.”
Achol says she fears that if these beliefs continue,
parents may not consider educating their daughters, and girl-child education
may die down in the Dinka community.
Meanwhile, Sarah Abui, 28, acquired a bachelor’s degree
in public health, from Cavendish University in Kampala, Uganda.
She said education made her know her rights, a situation
that irritates men who then “run to innocent girls”.
“They know those innocent girls will not complain even if
their needs are not met,” Sarah argued.
“Their roles will be keeping home and bearing children.
But educated girls cannot accept to be held down.”
Child marriage is prevalent in many parts of the world
and is still a common practice in South Sudan.
The South Sudan Child Act of 2008 sets the minimum age of
marriage for girls above 18 years old.
Despite this law, many parts of South Sudan continue to
practice child marriage due to poverty, cultural customs, and a lack of law
enforcement.
Cultural practices dictate that when a child menstruates
or gets her period, she is considered eligible to marry.
As a result, reports suggest that 52% of girls marrybefore they turn 18, with some marrying off as young as 12.
Furthermore, 28% of girls who marry as children become
pregnant before they even reach adulthood.
Kuot Majok Gumjok, a graduate, married a woman his elders
chose for him—a girl who had dropped out of primary four.
However, Kuot believes things need to change.
“Educated men should be allowed to choose a wife despite
others’ judgments as long as she will be productive at home,” Kuot argued.
“So, if they also want to show you a girl, they should go
for the educated ones, but taking you back to the village to choose an
illiterate girl as your wife is not good enough.”
Meanwhile, Sultan Awet Majak, Rumbek East County
paramount chief, says educated girls, many of whom have studied outside South
Sudan, have lost cultural values of being a worthy wife, and this, he says,
disqualifies them as potential wives for their sons.
“There is this thing called “human rights”; it has
changed your behaviors, and that discourages educated men from going for
illiterate girls who don’t know what human rights are. Learned girls don’t
respect their parents,” Awet explained.
“Another thing is “boyfriend”. Educated girls can be
married but will have another man she calls ‘boyfriend’. Where was he during
marriage process? Did he help her husband to pay the dowries?”
Another female university graduate, who is married likens
marriage to slavery for women in the Dinka community.
“Marriage in South Sudan, particularly my community,
Dinka, is like a slavery sentence, because you are kept inside closed doors,”
Margret Aluel Bup explained.
She claims that people despise educated women for their
independent lifestyle.
Margret hopes the community will accept the changes that
come with education. She believes educated women have the right to work and
take care of their health, and that shouldn’t make them unworthy of marriage.
Margret believes that if educated youth unite, they can
overcome elders' resistance against certain cultural values, which the elders
use to pin down educated women.
"If you take care of yourself and your children
well, your in-laws will say you have forgotten them. This is the challenge we
face as educated women. When you go to work, no one remains home to cook. For
that, we ask, ‘Should we not work? Then why did we study?’”