Gender advocates are calling on husbands to get rid of negative cultural norms and start sharing housework responsibilities with their wives.
They say men should commit to doing their share of daily chores, and make sure work is split fairly including cooking, cleaning the house, and taking care of their babies.
In many cultures in South Sudan, it is believed that house chores are the sole responsibility of women and girls.
The advocates said men should not wait to be asked but step up when they see dishes piling up in the sink or laundry.
This includes fetching water, cooking, cleaning, washing, and child care among others.
Data Gordon is the executive director of the Men for Women organization.
He said South Sudanese families should be modernized and embrace gender equality at the family level.
He was speaking on Eye Radio’s Dawn show today.
“Let [men] share roles, it is only biological roles that we cannot share, like for example a woman becoming pregnant, that is something a man cannot be able to do.
“But in cooking, I have never heard a man die. Let’s get back and look into our cultures and evaluate these cultures whether they are really positive or negative.
“If I get into the kitchen and cook, it will not even remove the fact that I’m a man, it will never change me, I will still remain a man, and I will still remain the husband to my wife and the father to my children.”
Since Saturday last week, South Sudan joined the rest of the world to observe the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence.
Lam Deng, a gender champion with the non-violent peace force organization called on men to support their women at home with house chores.
Lam also said the advocacy for 16 days of activism against gender-based violence should continue beyond the 16 days of the campaign.
“ Let’s not wait only for these days [16 days of activism against GBV] to advocate for issues that we are talking about [sharing roles at home with wives]. We should also continue doing it in the Churches, in the mosques, in schools, and in public gatherings.”
For his part, Kun Chuol – another gender champion with a non-violent peace force organization – said men should not believe that they cannot do house chores.
“Men can change, help their partners so they will also be able to create the bond by changing their beliefs and ideologies that the men cannot do what the women can do.”
The three gender advocates made the call as the world is observing 16 days of activism against gender-based violence.
It is an annual international campaign that kicks off on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs until 10 December, Human Rights Day.
The campaign was started by activists at the inauguration of the Women’s Global Leadership Institute in 1991.
It is used as an organizing strategy by individuals and organizations around the world to call for the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls.
In support of this civil society initiative, the United Nations Secretary-General launched in 2008 the campaign UNITE by 2030 to End Violence against Women, which runs parallel to the 16 Days of Activism.
Every year, the UNITE Campaign focuses on a specific theme and this year’s is “UNITE! Invest to prevent violence against women and girls”.
The campaign calls on citizens to show how much they care about ending violence against women and girls by sharing the actions they are taking to create a world free from violence towards women.
This year’s campaign also calls on governments worldwide to share how they are investing in gender-based violence prevention.
