South Sudan: Breaking traditional gender norms through WASH Activities

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Nyajime seated outside her home in Wechjokni. CARE International South Sudan



by Kenyi Evans, Senior Communications Officer, CARE South Sudan

Nyajime Majiok is a 35-year-old  woman who recently returned to her village of origin in Wechjokni Boma, Bilkey Payam in Akobo County. She had fled her home during the civil war in 2013. Upon her return in July 2023, she was faced with several challenges including food shortage, lack of water and sanitation facilities, and a general inability to access basic goods and services. Access to clean water was a pressing need as the borehole in her village had broken down two years ago. Exacerbating Nyajime’s plight was the tumultuous relationship with her husband. The marriage was fraught with domestic issues  and constant clashes including disagreements over household roles.  She was desperate to find solutions to bring peace and understanding to her marriage. At the same time, the Afia WASH project funded by USAID in Western Bahr el Ghazal, Jonglei and Eastern Equatoria States started. 

The program is being implemented in a consortium led by DT-Global, Aqua Africa and CARE South Sudan, aimed at expanding sustainable access to basic safe drinking water. It also sought to establish provision of basic sanitation and increase the uptake of key hygiene behaviors to improve health and household resilience.  CARE South Sudan’s component looks at a comprehensive social behavior change (SBC) strategy to increase the adoption of key sanitation and hygiene practices and shift harmful gender norms related to WASH while improving access to services and resources for women and girls. Under this component, Nyajime and her husband were beneficiaries of gender-based violence during the formation of water management committees in their community. They were also able to participate in the 16 days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence events. “After the training, I can engage my husband in sharing household responsibilities, rejecting harmful gender stereotypes and cultural biases and granting me more freedom at home,” she explained.

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