By Men in South Sudan have bitterly attacked women activists who are proposing to deny their husbands sex until the fighting in the country comes to an end.
This comes after a group of female South Sudanese peace activists appealing to women across the country and in the diaspora to consider denying their husbands sex until the conflict is resolved.
They made the decision at their meeting in the country’s capital of Juba last Thursday. The meeting was reportedly attended by 90 female activists.The meeting was one of the series being held by female activists aimed at drawing the attention of the country’s rival leaders and the international community to end ongoing conflict.
“A key suggestion was to mobilize all women in South Sudan to deny their husbands conjugal rights until they ensure that peace returns,” organizers said in a statement they released after the meeting.
A junior commander in South Sudan peoples liberation army, Hilary Lukudu said,”The women do not know what they are doing. You can not deny your husband because you think by doing that you can help in ending the war.”
Lukudu said that for a soldier who has been at war front for several months to get an opportunity of going to his home and his wife denies him sex can lead to domestic violence.
“Such an act can easily lead to domestic violence. Men can even kill their wives if they attempt to deny them sex thinking that they do so because they sleep with other men,” he said.
“I hope my wife does not listen to such nonsense. The moment she denies me sex, I will hit sense into her head before sending her out of my house,” said Peter Lolyong, a secondary school teacher in Juba.
Former deputy minister for gender, child and social welfare Priscila Nyanyang, who coordinated the women activists during their meeting said that the meeting was held as a platform for women to come up with ideas on ways to advance the cause of peace, healing, and reconciliation.
Apart from denying sex, the women activists also came up with other proposals included arranging meetings with the wives of President Salva Kiir and his former deputy turned rebel leader, Riek Machar, to personally ask them to join the search for peace and reconciliation by impressing upon their husbands to stop the war.
The war between government troops and rebels led by former vice president Riek Macher broke out on Dec. 15, 2013. So far thousands of people have been killed and over 1.5 million displaced by the fighting.