Terekeka’s women now have a voice

Thanks to a women association supported by MS Sudan, the women in Terekeka, a remote area in Southern Sudan, are taking control of their own lives.

Joyce Jemeya Luguma is the chairlady of Terekeka Women Association. Photo: Camilla Ankerstjerne.

In a building made of clay and sticks under an iron sheeted roof in Terekeka, Southern Sudan, 14 women are gathered to learn about the elections scheduled for April 2010. It will be the women’s first time to take part in a national democratic election so they are listening carefully to the information.

“Now, we will be able to make people aware of the importance of participating in the elections. It is important because we can achieve better things tomorrow if we elect our leaders. If we had not received this knowledge, we would not have known about the election plans and we would not have been able to tell others about them,” Joyce Jemeya Luguma says. She is the chairlady of Terekeka Women Association.

The course on the elections is conducted by MS Sudan and is part of MS’s capacity building of the women association. However, voter education is only one of the group’s activities.

Women did not speak in public
“Normally, we women do not benefit from the work of men and we do not own property. An association like this is important in order for us to advocate for women’s rights. Now women have a voice in Terekeka. Before, the Mundari women (Mundari is the most prominent tribe in Terekeka, edit.) did not speak in public but today, I can stand and talk in front of a big group of people. Many people are thanking me for the work we have done,” Joyce Jemeya Luguma says.

According to the chairlady, the goal of the association is clear.

“We need to fight poverty. We want to work with our hands and we want to learn how to read and write. We want to learn new things and put them into practice,“ she says.

Women must help other women
The ideas for activities are plenty. Among other things, the women want to build accommodation facilities so that they can earn money on the rent and they will cook and make soap which they can sell in the market. In addition, the women want to build a fish pond and grow crops.

“Women must help other women because nobody else will help us feed our children. We need to take more responsibility and send our children to school,” says Khamisa who is a member of the association.

MS Sudan has been in partnership with Terekeka Women Association since January 2009.

Khamisa believes that women must help each other. Therefore, she is a member of Terekeka Women Assocation. Photo: Camilla Ankerstjerne.