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SOUTH SUDAN / SEXUAL VIOLENCE
STORY: SOUTH SUDAN / SEXUAL VIOLENCE
TRT: 3:43
SOURCE: UNMISS
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 21 - 22 MAY 2019, JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN
21 MAY 2019, JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN
1. Various Shots, art exhibition
22 MAY 2019, JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah Aba Afari, UN Police Gender, Child and Vulnerable Persons Protection Team Leader:
“The students, some of the participants or visitors to this workshop, were asking, why should this be? Why should people perpetrate violence against women? It needs to stop and others said these things are real because it is happening in our community and some even suggested to their friends that we need to stop. We need to stop, it’s not good of us. So, the exhibition is creating awareness among the South Sudan population, all manner of people, all walks of life.”
21 MAY 2019, JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN
3. Various Shots, art exhibition
22 MAY 2019, JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN
4. SOUNDBITE (English) David Solomon, South Sudan Student Artist:
“It’s about the traditional court system. You can see in the traditional way, the elders, they are there, they can judge a case against women, especially if there is a woman, they blame the woman, they don’t allow women to be part of the traditional process. You can see in the painting, women are seated very far away, and whenever a woman is brought in the traditional court, they blame the woman and that’s why all the hands are pointed at the woman. They don’t listen to her rights and women’s decisions are neglected in this painting. So, this message I am passing is that women should get involved in any decision-making.”
5. Various Shots, art exhibition
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah Juma Anglo, Artist and Teaching Assistant:
“This painting is, like I suppose, the soldier should be saving the woman. Here, no respect for women, they just start shouting at her, beating the woman. These things should not happen.”
7. Various Shots, art exhibition
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah Aba Afari, UN Police Gender, Child and Vulnerable Persons Protection Team Leader:
“The feedback we are getting is so wonderful. Some of the people are showing remorse. Some of the people even want to cry because some of these paintings connect them back to their experiences they’ve had and it has also served as a therapy because such violence perpetrated against them is now being communicated to the general public that it is wrong though they might not have the voice to talk about it.”
9. Various Shots, art exhibition
Sponsored by the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), art Students held an exhibition to raise awareness about sexual and gender-based violence in their country, which has been plagued by conflict for almost six years.
SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah Aba Afari, UN Police Gender, Child and Vulnerable Persons Protection Team Leader:
“The students, some of the participants or visitors to this workshop, were asking, why should this be? Why should people perpetrate violence against women? It needs to stop and others said these things are real because it is happening in our community and some even suggested to their friends that we need to stop. We need to stop, it’s not good of us. So, the exhibition is creating awareness among the South Sudan population, all manner of people, all walks of life.”
SOUNDBITE (English) David Solomon, South Sudan Student Artist:
“It’s about the traditional court system. You can see in the traditional way, the elders, they are there, they can judge a case against women, especially if there is a woman, they blame the woman, they don’t allow women to be part of the traditional process. You can see in the painting, women are seated very far away, and whenever a woman is brought in the traditional court, they blame the woman and that’s why all the hands are pointed at the woman. They don’t listen to her rights and women’s decisions are neglected in this painting. So, this message I am passing is that women should get involved in any decision-making.”
The students say art is an ingenious way of communicating through powerful visuals in a country with high rates of illiteracy. It’s also about rebuilding their culture through colour and creative art, including respect for the rights of women. Their art is a tool for change.
SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah Juma Anglo, Artist and Teaching Assistant:
“This painting is, like I suppose, the soldier should be saving the woman. Here, no respect for women, they just start shouting at her, beating the woman. These things should not happen.”
For UNMISS, the exhibition is an opportunity to reach 8,000 students from diverse tribes and backgrounds as well as thousands from the community who are expected to visit. It’s also about giving survivors of sexual violence a voice.
SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah Aba Afari, UN Police Gender, Child and Vulnerable Persons Protection Team Leader:
“The feedback we are getting is so wonderful. Some of the people are showing remorse. Some of the people even want to cry because some of these paintings connect them back to their experiences they’ve had and it has also served as a therapy because such violence perpetrated against them is now being communicated to the general public that it is wrong though they might not have the voice to talk about it.”
Many of the students struggle to pay their way through university in the poverty-stricken country but the exhibition is helping them continue their studies, with many of the 50 works on display already sold to local art lovers.
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