Judges in South Sudan are calling for more women to be appointed to the judiciary, saying that greater gender diversity would help to improve access to justice and promote equality in the country.
Speaking at a recent forum on gender and the law, Justice Chan Reech Madut, the Chief Justice of South Sudan, highlighted the importance of increasing the representation of women in the judiciary.
“We need to have more women on the bench. They bring a different perspective and help to ensure that the law is applied fairly and equitably,” he said.
Justice Madut’s comments were echoed by other judges and legal experts at the forum, who argued that greater gender diversity would help to address some of the challenges facing the justice system in South Sudan, including corruption, inefficiency, and discrimination.
“Women have a unique role to play in promoting access to justice and upholding the rule of law. They can help to bridge the gap between the justice system and the communities it serves,” said one legal expert.
Currently, women make up only a small proportion of judges and other legal professionals in South Sudan. According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), women account for just 9% of judges and magistrates, and only 16% of lawyers in the country.
This lack of gender diversity is seen as a major obstacle to improving access to justice and promoting equality, particularly for women and other marginalized groups.
Studies have shown that women judges are more likely to rule in favor of other women and to take a more empathetic approach to cases involving issues such as domestic violence and sexual assault. They also tend to be more committed to ensuring that women’s rights are upheld and that gender-based violence is addressed.
However, achieving greater gender diversity in the judiciary is not without its challenges. Many women face systemic barriers to entering the legal profession, including limited access to education and training, cultural biases, and discrimination in the workplace.
To address these challenges, experts are calling for a range of measures to be implemented, including the introduction of quotas and other affirmative action policies, greater investment in education and training for women, and efforts to address cultural and social barriers to gender equality.
There are some positive signs that progress is being made. In 2018, South Sudan’s Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs launched a program to increase the number of women in the legal profession, with a focus on training and mentorship. The program aims to increase the number of female judges and lawyers in the country to 35% by 2023.
There have also been efforts to raise awareness about the importance of gender diversity in the judiciary and to promote the inclusion of women in the legal profession. The recent forum on gender and the law, for example, brought together judges, lawyers, and other legal experts to discuss strategies for increasing gender diversity in the judiciary.
However, much work remains to be done. Achieving greater gender diversity in the judiciary will require a sustained commitment from the government, civil society groups, and the legal profession as a whole. It will also require efforts to address the broader social and cultural factors that contribute to gender inequality in South Sudan.