Nuba Women in Regional Conference

By Jacob Idris
Sudan Mirror Correspondent
Volume 1, Issue 4 | 17th November-30th November, 2003

A Regional conference for all Nuba women is to take place in Nuba Mountains mid November, Nuba women representative in the SPLM office for Women Secretariat Mrs Mary James, has said.

The conference follows the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement and Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLM/A) move to prepare its leaders and cadres to face the challenges ahead of them as the hope for a comprehensive peace settlement to end the war is under way.

Mrs Mary James said the conference is aimed at organising Nuba women politically from the village to regional level through elections so that they can compete for political positions with women from the other regions.
The conference, which is organised by SPLM Women Secretariat under Mama Kezia and the SPLM/A Secretary General Cdr. James Wani Iga will take place in Kauda.

A similar conference for Equatoria women was held in Equatoria in June. Funj region, Bahr el Ghazal and Upper Nile regions will also hold conferences next year to elect their respective regional leaders.

A National conference will be convened next year in which representatives elected from the various regions will contest among themselves to take up the 25% seats in the National Liberation Council.

The 25% seats have been given to the women as part of the SPLM/A policy for women emancipation.
Under this arrangement the women are allowed to compete for the other 75% seats in the National Liberation Council in addition to the 25% which is only allocated to women representatives.

The meeting is also a forum to explain the role of the women in the current political arena, and the role of women’s associations and movements within the SPLM/A.

It will also be used as a forum to present the SPLM/A women structure to the women in a simplified format. The conference is funded Christian Aid and local contributors from women and civil society groups.