2001 sees the civil war in Sudan enter its 18th year. It is the longest running current civil war in Africa. Pieternella Pieterse looks at how the women of one tribe have been affected.

The conflict in Sudan has so far left 2.5 million people dead. Two million of them are southerners: rebels and civilians caught up in the fighting. The south, its population a mix of several tribes, is fighting for independence from the predominantly Muslim north.

In south Sudan, approximately 40% of the population are Dinka. Despite, or maybe because of the war and the isolation it has brought, traditional culture is strong. Nowadays, these traditions are being modified to deal with life in a conflict zone. And this is reflected in the changing role of women in a society where more and more of them have become widowed.

In Dinka culture, marriage is important to form bonds between families and to make sure a family name is carried on. A Dinka man can have as many wives as he likes, as long as he has enough cattle to pay for each one he wants to marry. A dowry, which can run to 100-150 head of cattle, is often contributed to by the whole family. After the marriage has taken place, the woman becomes more or less the property of her husband’s family. And if her husband dies, a brother-in law, an uncle – in fact, whomever the family decides – will then ‘inherit’ her. A young woman is expected to have children with her newly assigned guardian, but all newborn children will carry the name of her deceased husband. A family can even ‘marry’ a woman for a man who has lost his life long before. She is regarded as being a widow from her wedding day and is instantly passed on to another male family member, the objective being that her children will carry the name of the man who never managed to have children of his own.

Many Dinka men have died as a result of the civil war, and women are often finding themselves widowed at an early age. As a result, a shrinking male population is inheriting responsibility for more women and children than ever before: a situation that can prove costly. A man provides a house and some land for every woman he marries, while a widow keeps the house where she and her children lived. She also keeps and tends the land to feed the family.

Jok, a Dinka man in his thirties, explains how he inherited his first wife when he turned eighteen. “My story is very complicated,” he warns before we start talking. “My uncle, who was my biological father, died when I was around 14. When I was old enough, I inherited one of his wives. Four of my brothers have also died, so I now have responsibility over many women.

“It is important to marry several of your own wives and for your name to be carried on. I had children before I married my own wife, but none of them carry my name.”

“Women are more self-sufficient now,” explains Jok, “and men encourage that nowadays. It is difficult for men to support all of them.”

Sarah has been a widow for ten years. Her husband was a soldier in the Sudan People’s Liberation Army. “It is not easy for a woman when her husband dies”, she explains. “You have little choice about who you are going to live with next. You could go back to your parents, but they will then have to pay back the dowry to your in-laws. Most parents can’t afford it, or refuse to do so.”

Sarah works with local woman’s groups supported by the Irish development organisation Concern. “Since the war, so many men are missing and women have had to become more independent. They always did most of the work on the land, but now many are also providing things they used to receive from their husbands. Women in our project are producing cooking oil from Lulu nuts and they are trying to sell it for profit. Many women also make a homebrew, which they sell. With the money earned they buy clothes and salt and sugar. Most of what they buy is for the children, but the point is that they handle money now, which they never used to in the past.”

One of the women from the Lulu oil group is Martha: she is in her fifties, she guesses. She has eight children and her husband has four other wives. They have 31 children between them and all live off the land they cultivate. “I am the only one who has a job and a small income. I am old now and I have little strength to work on the land. I hope that the cash from the oil will help me start a small shop and keep some money coming in.”

Aluel Riak is another example of small but significant change in the status of Dinka women. She has been involved with an ox-plough training project run by Concern, and has become the most successful businesswoman in the area. She was the first woman to be trained, but her success has since encouraged other women to take part.

It is almost unheard of to use cattle for work and culturally that was a big hurdle for Aluel to clear. As she explains: “My husband agreed to the training and in the beginning I used his oxen to plough. It was a great success from the start, and the yields of my land increased ten-fold! I am now ploughing and planting a much bigger piece of land than I ever could have done by hand.

“After the first harvest I sold some goats and bought my own oxen.” Aluel laughs as she recalls how this raised eyebrows – women owning cattle is unheard of and looked on with either a lot of suspicion or a great deal of respect.

“In the beginning we were laughed at by men, now they see we are producing well. I am paid for ploughing my neighbours’ fields and last year I bought a bicycle from the profits. I have also constructed a second house for my children with a good grain store on top. My husband doesn’t use the ox-plough, but I have trained one of his other wives; she will now be ploughing his land for next year’s harvest.”

Images © Pieternella Pieterse