Indigenous approaches to peace building: examining the strategies employed by women in south Sudan

Abstract

South Sudan got her independence from Sudan in 2011 and up till now it has suffered from recurrent relapses. Many groups such as Governmental organizations, Non-Governmental Organizations, Women’s Organizations and other various Civil Society groups troop into this post conflict zones in order to achieve a sustainable peace. More importantly, women at the grass roots formed groups/movements in order to help in the peace building process. Despite all the efforts at the grass roots in form of mediation, diplomacy, peaceful intervention, South Sudan still suffers relapses of war. Albeit, this is not to say that the grass roots women had not been working and making progress in peace building in South Sudan. The findings of this paper are based on an empirical study carried out in South Sudan among the grass roots women’s groups.

Hence, this paper examines the indigenous strategies put in place by these women’s groups while attempting to build a sustainable peace at the grass roots in their communities after a long and protracted war, the success stories that come along with it and recommendations on what else can be done.

Keywords: Indigenous approaches, Peacebuilding, Women’s organisations, South Sudan