Unamid promotes Darfuri women’s participation in ‘Native Administration’

In collaboration with the South Darfur State Ministry of Social Affairs, Culture and Information, Unamid held a two-day workshop in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, on 12-13 November for 77 community leaders to discuss gender issues and how to increase the participation of women in the Native Administration, given that less than one per cent of the traditional leaders in South Darfur are women.  In his opening remarks Unamid’s Acting Head of Office in South Darfur, Harish Joshi, cited the provisions of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) which calls for giving special priorities to women’s representation in the social, political and administrative spheres. “Let’s keep up to the international and national expectations on empowering our sisters in Darfur,” he said.  The Governor of South Darfur, Major General Adam Mahmoud Jarelnabi pledged his government’s support to women “in all their constructive endeavours” and expressed his regret over their suffering, saying that “the tribal clashes have produced many widows and that the social fabric of the Darfur community has been destroyed and it needs urgent mending”.  Unamid, in collaboration with the Office of the North Darfur State Governor’s Advisory on Woman and Children Affairs, conducted a similar workshop in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, on 4 and 5 November. It was attended by more than 50 traditional leaders.   File photo: Native Administration Workshop on Increasing Women’s participation in Traditional Mediation Mechanisms, organised by the Unamid Gender Advisory Unit and North Darfur State (Albert González Farran/Unamid)