Pads Sudan: An interview with founder, David Wakoli
By Jackie O’Neal
Pads Sudan is a non-governmental agency whose mission encompasses launching initiative to work toward the betterment of girls and women. The education of girls is a focal point of their mission. Illiteracy, forced marraige, and the lack of affordbale sanitary pads serve as obstacles to the empowerment of girls. On average, girls miss 50 days of school per year as a result of not being to afford sanitary pads. Reports estimate that a month’s supply of imported sanitary pads can represent an entire day’s wages for the average working woman.
According to The United Nations Population Fund the state of women’s empowerment in Sudan varies across regions and probably is worse in South Sudan. There is no estimated data on age at first marriage for South Sudan but traditionally arranged marriage during childhood is common and the estimated adolescent fertility rate (15-19 years old) is at least 200 per 1000.
Further statistics drawn form The United Nations Population Fund demonstrated that literacy rates in Southern Sudan stand at 24%. In addition, gender discrepancies are quite pronounced in South Sudan compared to the North. For example, literacy rates for male and females in North Sudan stand at 71% and 52% respectively while it stands at 37% and 12% literacy rate for males and females in Southern Sudan).
The United Nations Population Fund pointed out that in Southern Sudan, there has not been a systematic and comprehensive assessment on prevalence and forms of gender-based violence, though is thought to be very prevalent anecdotally. Warfare has led to a widespread form of a new type of violence such as gang rape. Female genital mutilation is thought to be rare. Women’s lack of access to justice for cases of violations of sexual and reproductive rights (e.g. divorce, women’s access to children) is particularly emphasized by the assessments. Over 90% of day-to-day criminal and civil cases are executed under customary law, which is largely not only inconsistent with international human rights laws, but also favor men. This results in incarceration of women often with their young babies/children in prisons.
UNICEF has reported that in southern Sudan, a teenage girl is far more likely to be a wife than a student. Out of a population of over 7 million people, only about 500 girls complete primary school each year. By contrast, one in five adolescent girls is already a mother. Early marriage is common across the region, but in southern Sudan, wracked by decades of civil war, the problem has been exacerbated by endemic poverty. According to UNICEF, a ‘bride price’, usually paid in cows, is due to a girl’s family on her wedding day – making a daughter one of the only realistic sources of income in a place where the average citizen lives on approximately 25 cents a day.
Additional alarming statistics indicate one in nine women in southern Sudan dies in pregnancy or childbirth. Only seven per cent of teachers are female, and close to 90 per cent of all women are illiterate.
By the age of 18, a single woman without children is often stigmatized as ‘unmarriageable’. Girls as young as 12 can be forced to wed men many years their senior. According to UNICEF,early marriage can have harmful consequences for children – including health problems, spousal abuse and the denial of education. Once married, girls often do not go back to school.
UNICEF reports point out parents choose to marry off their daughters early for a number of reasons. Poor families may regard a young girl as an economic burden and her marriage as a necessary survival strategy for her family. They may think that early marriage offers protection for their daughter from the dangers of sexual assault, or more generally, offers the care of a male guardian.
Early marriage may also be seen as a strategy to avoid girls becoming pregnant outside marriage.
My interview with David Wakoli, founder of Pads Sudan follows.
Jackie O’Neal:
What is Pads Sudan trying to achieve?
David Wakoli:
We want to put the message forth that education is a right for every female child, and possibly have body or a government organization that will be able to protect these girls from early unwanted and forced marriages.
Jackie O’Neal:
Why is this mission important?
David Wakoli:
I realized that their are many NGO’s working in South Sudan, just to mention a few, UNICEF,Save the Children, Care International , and Mercy Corps, but none of these organization are addressing this pressing issue at hand, and unless women are given equal opportunities in education as their male counterparts, then we are looking at a dormant and non -progressive society here, and in any given community without women’s positive contribution then that community is as good as a dead one. We at PSI feel its imperative that we take up this challenge to secure the future of every girl in South Sudan, if this is going to stop someone has to stand up to them and say this wrong and we must stop.
Jackie O’Neal:
How long have you been operating?
David Wakoli:
It’s a little over a year now since PSI was founded and I tell you we are going forward from strength to strength.
J.O.:
How did your organization come about?
David Wakoli:
PSI was born out of friendship, friends getting together and talk about all sorts of things about life in general. Esther and I came up with the idea to help these girls and thats how the PSI outfit was born
J.O.:
Tell us something about a key person/founder behind your group/organization
David Wakoli:
That will be me (David) naturally I have a heart to help and identify with people in needs, a good example, people find it odd a man leading a group fighting for the rights of women, naturally a lot of men will be uncomfortable addressing such kind of issues affecting women, me on the other hand am compelled to talk about these things, cause i feel women are human too and they deserve the right to be treated equally and with respect.
J.O.
What did you do before founding Pads Sudan?
David Wakoli:
I worked with DynCorp International mostly in humanitarian aid department, and most of it was filed work in various parts of Southern Sudan and Uganda.
J.O.:
What is your motivation?
David Wakoli:
Our motivation comes from the afflictions people face and we are compelled to help or do something about it, and if you are born with heart full of compassion you can’t stand seeing hurt when you know very well you could have done something about it, its good to try even if you don’t succeed at-least you would have washed away this guilt hanging around your mind, and your heart can rest with satisfaction that you tried to help just that things dint work out.
J.O:
What is the focal interest of your work?
David Wakoli:
Our interest will be non other than to succeed in this pursuit and help as many girls as we can
J.O.:
Describe any highs and or lows doing- personally or the organisation as a whole?
David Wakoli:
Our highs was when the state ministry of education endorsed our PSI and congratulated our work, and our low is what is facing us now, financial challenges to keep the initiative running and reach as many communities as we can. in the past we having been running this initiative on our pocket money and well wishers which is just a drop in the ocean without much effect on the problem. and I can tell you it’s proving difficult to keep this up, unless someone comes along to help.
J.O.:
Is there anything unique to how you are doing things? What’s your approach?
David Wakoli:
We are doing this in a friendly and unique approach by providing these girls free sanitary pads as a way of reaching out to them, which in itself creates them a sense of trust in us and helps them open up and talk to us about problems and challenges they face in day to day life. from here we have a clear idea what problems they are facing and what we can to help.
Tell us a key frustration working in your field?
Our key frustration right now is breaking custom laws as far as marriage is concerned. In South Sudan under current custom laws, a i man s allowed to marry as many women as he wants and most of them being young girls, provided he has enough cows to pay dowry to the parents of these young women. It’s like demolishing a huge mountain with a hand hummer tool, especially in a community dominated by men and women who don’t have much of a say. This in and of itself is a frustrating task.
J.O:
Where are you located? Geographically, what area(s) do you cover/help?
David Wakoli:
We are located in Juba, South Sudan which is the capital city of the new South Sudan.
J.O.:
Explain two things you really need (other than cash) – and why?
David Wakoli:
I believe in the power of the media both locally and internationally as a tool for putting pressure on the government of South Sudan to pass a bill in parliament in favor of girl child education, a bill that will be able to protect these girls from early and unlawful marriages from vicious men who take advantage of custom marriage laws.
For more information, visit: http://pads-sudan.org/about-pads
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