“Not Just a Woman”: Building a Feminist Future for South Sudan

Across South Sudan, the women of Ma’Mara Sakit Village are redefining what it means to live, lead, and love as feminists in a society healing from conflict. They call themselves “the village,” more than an organisation, a community grounded in solidarity, care, and shared purpose.

Their name, Ma’Mara Sakit, translates from South Sudanese Arabic as “not just a woman.” It is both a declaration and a vision: a reminder that South Sudanese women are creators, thinkers, and leaders - with a central role in the country’s past, present, and future.

“We are not building an institution. We are cultivating a village, a living, breathing feminist community for South Sudan.”

— Ma’Mara Sakit Village Team, South Sudan

A Feminist Vision for South Sudan

Founded by a collective of artists, activists, and cultural workers, Ma’Mara Sakit Village is a homegrown feminist movement using art, media, research, and culture to amplify women’s voices and reimagine South Sudan through feminist eyes.

Their work reaches beyond advocacy, it’s about reshaping identity, narrative, women’s leadership in all works of life and championing women’s political participation and creating a sense of belonging and self- awareness to all women in South Sudan. From national radio talk shows to local community beadwork, from digital archives to dignity funds, Ma’Mara Sakit builds networks of trust and self-determination that embody what a feminist society could look like.

“Ma’Mara Sakit is the village we have been waiting for, the one we build with our own hands.”

— South Sudanese Feminist Collective

Where many organizations work to support women within the existing structures, Ma’Mara Sakit is imagining new structures altogether, grounded in South Sudanese realities, languages, and ways of knowing.

Gender Talk 211: Broadcasting the Feminist Imagination

Through their flagship media initiative Gender Talk 211, Ma’Mara Sakit Village brings conversations about women’s leadership, social justice, and cultural identity into the public sphere.

Using storytelling, photography, and digital media, Gender Talk 211 amplifies the experiences of South Sudanese women and non-binary people, documenting not only struggle, but creativity and joy. It serves as both a feminist archive and a platform for dialogue, engaging communities through national radio broadcasts and online storytelling.

“We use the radio to open doors that have long been closed, to make feminism something our communities can listen to, talk about, and recognize in their own lives.”

— Jacky, Ma’Mara Sakit Village

Mojtama Al’Mara: Women’s Community, Women’s Power

‘Mojtama Al’Mara’ - meaning “Women’s Community,” is a movement-building initiative that strengthens informal feminist groups and local networks across South Sudan. Many of these groups are unregistered or underfunded, yet they are the lifeblood of local activism.

Ma’Mara Sakit helps these grassroots women’s circles access funding, training, and feminist education, nurturing a new generation of leaders who understand both the theory and practice of African feminism. Through this, women gain the tools to challenge patriarchy, build solidarity, and root their activism in local knowledge and collective care.

In South Sudan, where security threats and gender-based violence are part of many women’s realities, Ma’Mara Sakit created the Social Justice Sonduk: a “feminist safety deposit box.”

Inspired by the South Sudanese tradition of “Sonduk-Sonduk” (a community merry-go-round savings system), this dignity fund offers emergency support for women and activists facing threats, violence, or displacement.

It’s both practical and symbolic, an embodiment of the feminist principle that no one stands alone. When one woman falls, the village catches her.

Suk-Sukna: Our Beads, Our Story

Culture and creativity are at the heart of Ma’Mara Sakit’s sustainability model. The Suk-Sukna Project, meaning “Our Beads,” trains women and girls to design and recreate traditional South Sudanese beads, celebrating indigenous artistry while creating livelihoods.

The project links economic empowerment with cultural revival, helping women generate income while affirming South Sudanese feminist aesthetics — beauty, resilience, and interconnection. Proceeds from Suk-Sukna help fund the Village’s programs, ensuring community-led sustainability.

“Each bead tells a story. When women create together, they reclaim beauty, identity, and dignity.”

— Suk-Sukna Artisan Collective

The Village as a Feminist Model

Ma’Mara Sakit’s approach is deeply relational, guided by principles of care, autonomy, interdependence, and voice. The Village model itself is a metaphor for a South Sudanese feminist future: one that values community over competition, dialogue over dominance, and empathy over hierarchy.

Their programs, from radio shows to safety funds, all flow from one core belief: that South Sudan’s transformation depends on the leadership, creativity, and freedom of its women.