
This intervention study addresses the critical deficit of women's substantive political participation in post-conflict South Sudan, where entrenched patriarchal norms continue to marginalise women from decision-making processes despite constitutional quotas. It evaluates a multi-faceted, gender-transformative intervention implemented from 2021 to 2026, designed to foster genuine political agency beyond numerical representation. A sequential mixed-methods design was employed, comprising a longitudinal survey with 450 women across three states, followed by in-depth focus group discussions and systematic participant observation. The intervention integrated leadership training, coalition-building workshops, and community dialogues challenging gendered political stereotypes. Quantitative results demonstrate a statistically significant increase in participants' political self-efficacy and knowledge. Qualitatively, these shifts correlated with a notable rise in women contesting and securing local council positions by 2024. However, the analysis reveals persistent structural barriers, including gendered violence and party gatekeeping, which curtailed national-level influence. The study concludes that while targeted interventions can catalyse local political engagement, their long-term efficacy is contingent upon concurrent legal and institutional reforms. This contributes a critical African feminist perspective to peacebuilding literature, positing that empowering South Sudanese women politically necessitates a fundamental renegotiation of power, vital for the nation's democratic consolidation and equitable development.
Intersectionality, Gender-transformative intervention, Post-conflict governance, African feminism, Feminist political ecology, South Sudan, Women's political participation
Intersectionality, Gender-transformative intervention, Post-conflict governance, African feminism, Feminist political ecology, South Sudan, Women's political participation
| selected citations These citations are derived from selected sources. This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | 0 | |
| popularity This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network. | Average | |
| influence This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | Average | |
| impulse This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network. | Average |
