By Yuggu Charles
To outsiders, it is a cruel and outdated custom, but to the people of Kuku in Central Equatoria State, the customary law is good and must be followed to the letter. Some of the community’s customary laws are particularly cruel to women, a situation that has provoked the anger of human rights activists, who are now campaigning to have them changed.
According to the Kuku community’s customary law, women are regarded as children and are treated as the property of men. They belong to men and are therefore treated by men like personal property and have no rights, according to a local resident, Franco Jale David, 27.
“According to the custom, if a woman is married and she divorces, she will return to her home empty handed, even without her children, as she has no right to property,” says David. He adds: “A man marrying a Kuku woman must pay a full dowry – comprising twelve head of cattle and twenty four goats – and this makes many men say the women are being bought and have to remain obedient and subordinate all the time.”
The Kuku is an indigenous community living in Kajo- Keji County, some 75 miles south west of the South Sudanese capital, Juba. Custom also bars women from attending village meetings or traditional courts in the village and states they must be confined to the kitchen all the time. David is among the locals who are campaigning for the rights of women and girls in Kuku and many men do not like him because of this.
“The government should educate the community on the rights of the girl child. They should rescue women from this repugnant custom that depicts women as lesser human beings,” said David. He added: “The custom has given men the lee way to even stop their daughters and wives from pursuing formal education, arguing that only men are entitled to education. It is absurd.” He said the custom was to blame for the high rate of illiteracy among women in the region. “It is normal to find woman looking after cattle as young men go to school because of the skewed gender roles,” he explained.
At Logu village, 30 year old Jane Pujo says she is optimistic that the current campaign on the rights of women by Non-Governmental Organizations and some locals would bear fruits. “I am married with three children. I have not gone to school, but at least now, I know some of my rights,” she said after attending a meeting on human rights.
Another Kuku woman, 45 year old Emmelida Kojo comes from Logili village and recounts how some of the customary laws contribute to increased domestic violence in the community. She said that though the Kuku customary laws did not necessarily encourage beating of women; gaps and lack of clearly laid out procedures in implementing the customary laws contributed heavily towards the increasing domestic violence cases. Emmelida lost her two teeth after she was attacked by her husband for demanding her rights. “I have five children and I was recently beaten by my husband resulting in the loss of my two teeth. I fled to my parents and filed a case in a local court for compensation,” she said.
Meanwhile, Kiden Victoria, a 25 year old medical student at the Juba Teaching Hospital says little has been done to overcome the outdated traditional cultural practices amongst the Kuku people.
Victoria who is from Longira village said: “I do not agree with these customary laws and traditional beliefs because they are inconsistent with the dictates of modernity. Women must be given equal opportunities in education so that they can pursue education like me who is now studying medicine.”