The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) Ghana Battalion (GHANBATT) 11 has participated in the celebration of the annual International Women’s Day on Friday 8 March 2024.

The celebration, under the national theme “Accelerate Gender Equality through Inclusion and Access to Productive Resources for Women and Girls through Economic Empowerment”, commenced with a route march through some principal routes in Unity State.

The Guest of Honor for the event, the Acting Governor of Unity State, His Excellency (HE) Gatluak Tudia, in his remarks stated that women play vital roles in the society therefore, there was the need to encourage and protect them.

He indicated that, the evolving world has contributed to bringing women gradually into the lime light where most of them are at the helm of governance and businesses among others. He encouraged all women to continue to do their best regardless of the challenges they may face.

The Head of Field Office (HoFO) for UNMISS Sector Unity, Mr Kwame Dwamena-Aboagye on behalf of the Mission Leadership expressed joy to be part of the celebration, adding that the exhibition of the respective skills by the women of South Sudan in the area of Agriculture, drama among others was a feather in their cap. He also commended the Government of South Sudan and the Humanitarian Agencies for their contribution and effort in empowering women in Unity State to be productive and economically stable.

The Sector Unity Commander Brigadier General (Brig Gen) Emmanuel Rugazora said UN recognizes the need for gender mainstreaming to ensure full, equal and effective participation of women. He quoted the UN member states Uniform Gender Parity Strategy which sets a goal for 15% women participation in the military contingent.

He then commended all uniform personnel for their contribution to the celebration. He further noted that their participation in peacekeeping has led to tremendous positive outcome especially in CIMIC activities and other programs involving women who were victims of Gender Based Violence (GBV).