Op-Ed | Educating women and girls, and removing the barriers they face, is critical for the future of South Sudan

By Helen Grant

OP-ED —Visiting South Sudan in my role as the UK Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for Girls’ Education is a real honour. This is my second time in the country having visited with the UK Parliament’s International Development Committee in 2012. Girls’ education is a top priority for the UK government, and I am campaigning for every girl in the world to receive 12 years of safe, quality education. The UK led the way during our presidency of the G7 in 2021, setting an ambitious target to get 40 million girls back into school. This was followed up with significant political and financial commitments at the Global Education Summit.

Women and girls in South Sudan face numerous barriers to leading a safe, free and prosperous life. Extreme poverty and conflict reinforce harmful gender norms and exacerbate traditional practices such as child marriage, polygamy and wife inheritance, reducing access to basic services, livelihood opportunities, political participation and recourse to justice.

As the UK showed at COP26 in November, the climate crisis is also a major threat to girls’ education and South Sudan is on the frontline. Ranked 8th most vulnerable country in the world, in 2020 alone 400 schools in nine states were affected and damaged by floods and violence. Half of them are still occupied by internally displaced persons and therefore unusable.

My visit will allow me to hear first-hand the obstacles that women and girls are facing and how they are overcoming them. I look forward to witnessing the power of educating a girl on this visit. I want to understand how South Sudan and the UK can work together to ensure women and girls can fulfil their potential.

Unfortunately, one of the main obstacles is that over half of girls in South Sudan are married before 18. Restrictions on access to sexual and reproductive health services mean that complications related to early childbearing is the leading cause of mortality in girls aged 15-19. Early marriage also significantly reduces the number of girls attending school.

I will be meeting young women and girls beyond Juba to understand more about their education and how accessing health services has allowed them to return to school after giving birth. Even before landing in South Sudan I have heard that there is a real strength of feeling amongst students that completing their education is critical to improving their lives and those of their families.

A common thread that comes out of my conversations with young people across the globe is that financial constraints are often the first barrier they face in order to attend school. Where households have limited financial resources, traditionally a boy’s education is prioritised over a girl’s. That is why the UK-led Girls Education South Sudan programme provides small cash grants to female learners to allow them to buy uniform, transport to school and personal hygiene products therefore reducing the financial burden on individuals and their families.

I am delighted that the US and the EU have joined the GESS partnership, alongside Canada and the UK. This strengthened cooperation underlines our collective commitment to the women and girls of South Sudan.

I am looking forward to meetings with the Government of South Sudan where I can reiterate the UK’s commitment to education and health in South Sudan. But it is also critical that the government stands by its own commitments to fund vital education and health services. Paying teacher and health workers salaries on time and adequately will help to build more sustainable services and regular funding for infrastructure improvements and maintenance will enhance the quality of the services provided.  Public Financial Management reform is vital to ensuring that more of the nation’s resources work for the people of South Sudan.

In my role as the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for Girl’s Education I advocate for women and girls wherever I go and I’m looking forward to having a conversation with my parliamentary counterparts in South Sudan. I am going to gain an insight from some incredible women leaders who are highlighting the many challenges that women and girls face in South Sudan and how they are providing key services that continue to go unfunded by government.

The UK, along with our partners, is committed to work in close partnership with the transitional government to implement the revitalized peace agreement.  We stand with the South Sudanese people as they work toward their aspirations of peace and prosperity. We hope the county’s leaders will put aside their differences and work in the best interests of all of the people so that South Sudan can become a peaceful, democratic country, where human rights and the rule of law are respected. A South Sudan where the government truly serves its people and women are free to flourish, with universal access to education and free from the threat of violence.

Helen Grant was appointed in January 2021 as the British Prime Minister’s Special Envoy on Girls’ Education. Follow her HERE on Twitter.

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