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A 20-year-old female senior four candidate was forced to leave examination room by her step-brother in Bor town of Jonglei State who allegedly wanted to marry her off.

Adut Garang, a student at King’s Secondary School was supposed to sit for her final papers on Friday.

According to Garang Gosh, a civil society activist in Bor town, Adut Garang, a student at King’s College Secondary had previously eloped with her boyfriend.

But her family did not approve the courtship.

She then escaped from home and went into hiding in order to sit for the exams.

But Garang Gosh said  her angry brother, Hakim Garang said to be a degree holder and a group stormed  an exams hall when the bell was about to ring and forced her out.

“What happened is that, a few minutes into the examination room, one of the candidates call Adut Garang at King’s academy Secondary school  was about to start her exams, but unfortunately his step-brother came to the center and ordered Adut to get out of the class,” Gosh told Eye Radio.

According to Gosh, Adut had previously eloped with a boyfriend, but the family did not approve the courtship.

She then escaped from home and went into hiding in order to sit for the exams.

This allegedly angered her brothers who then decided to marry her off to another man at a cattle camp.

“Some of the information that we came across is that this brother wanted to take her to the cattle camp for marriage.

The brother was convinced by the invigilators and the chief of the center, but he refused to listen and forced the girl out of the exam room,” he revealed.

When contacted on the matter, the state Minister of General Education Lual Monyluak confirmed the situation.

He stated that invigilators could not successfully stop the vice at that time of the incident as Adut’s brothers became violent.

“This one was forceful deprivation as she was taken by her relative by force during the exams. We could not resist because we do not have forces at the center. They did not talk, they failed to tell us the problem and that is why we raised the issue so that they can be called by the police and the investigation will take place,” Minister Lual Monyluak said.

Monyluak said the issue is of concern and appealed to lawmakers from the girl’s constituency to handle the case serenely.

“We called the MP of that area so that they can go and help the situation because if you handle in a way they do not want, they may react and they might fight you because they came in a big number.”

Adut is one of the many victims of forced marriage, most of whom are forced to drop out of school at young ages.

South Sudan is said to be one of the most difficult places in the world for girls to receive an education.

A report by the Human Rights Watch indicated that many South Sudanese communities see child and forced marriage as being in the best interests of girls and their families.

The report titled ‘this old man can feed us, you must marry him’ says families see forced marriage as an important way to access much-needed assets through the traditional practice of transferring wealth through the payment of dowries.

IN 2017, women in Bor demanded empowerment through education as a way to help them combat early and forced marriage in the conflict-affected country of South Sudan.