Stakeholders from the South Sudan Law Society and partners launch project to protect women and girls rights in Juba. (Baria Johnson).

South Sudan Law Society on Friday launched a project to raise awareness on the rights of women and girls, while advocating for legal reforms to abolish gender discrimination laws in South Sudan.

The project initiated with funding from UN Women, will be implemented in 10 months’ duration in Juba, Wau and Malakal with country wide awareness on air and online.

Justice Ajonye Perpetua, the Secretary General of South Sudan Law Society said the initiative will be targeting more than 30,000 women and girls.

She added that the project aims at strengthening and establishing groups for survivors of Conflict related sexual violence and sexual gender-based violence.

Ms. Perpetua further explained that the project aims to contribute and push four bills for protection of women and girls.

“This project is going to be very important because it is going to target more than 30,000 women and girls all over South Sudan,” Perpetua told Eye Radio after the Launch of the project in Juba on Friday.

“It aims to establish survivor’s groups in the three locations in Juba, Wau and Malakal, especially in the POCs and also pushing and trying to contribute and participate heavily in four bills for protection of women and girl’s rights enactment into law.”

Monalisa Zatjirua, UN Women Program Specialist on SGBV, said UN Women and the government conducted mapping and analysis on twenty-seven South Sudan laws and the project launched aims to address some of the recommendations in the study launched.

“The project being launched today aims at increasing awareness on women and girls and their rights. It also aims at addressing discrimination in law,” she said.

“I know some of you participated in that so what we want to do is now implementing some of the recommendations from that particular study, so this project aims at starting to address some of the recommendations in that particular study.”

For her part, Regina Ossa Lullo, the Director for Gender and child welfare at the National Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Welfare, stresses on the role the project will play for women to know their rights and speak out as the country gears towards elections.

“This meeting is very important for the women of South Sudan, and with elections coming, it is important that they know their rights and with constitutional reforms and chapter five of the revitalized peace agreement.”

“When we start to implement that if the women, they do not know their rights they will not contribute they will keep quite even if they have gone through violence, will keep quite but once they are informed about their rights they will stand up and speak.”