Some advocates are calling on the national parliament to enact laws that will give women the right to sue their husbands and demand a divorce.
They say women continue to be victimized by customary laws which always favor men, especially during family disputes.
Stephen Martin, a legal advisor and the Commissioner of Oaths said once family laws become part of the constitution, both men and women shall receive fair treatment in resolving family matters.
“The customary law for example says in some tribes in South Sudan, women don’t have the right to inherit, this is unfair and injustice to women,” Martin said on Eye Radio’s Dawn show on Friday.
“Some tribes also say a woman does not have the right to go to court and demand a divorce, this is not right, it is impeding the right and development of the woman.”
“There should be a family law in South Sudan to give a woman the right to go to court and demand a divorce if she does not want the marriage, a law that gives her the right to inherit from her parents, to give the right to sue her husband if there is inhumane treatment.”
“Some of our customary laws are not fair to the rights of women and this will only end, if the parliament enacts a family law, parliamentarians should enact a family law.”
The transitional constitution stipulates that: “All persons are equal before the law and are entitled to the equal protection of the law without discrimination.”
However, it also states that in the absence of any article in the constitution that addresses a specific issue, then customary law prevails.
Monyluak Aguer, another legal advisor and commissioner of oaths said with the enactment of family law by the parliament, women will have the equal treatment during family disputes.
“We need to enact a family law to protect all the rights of women, since South Sudan gained independence, there were many cases the courts have ruled on them.”
“There are many laws that have been enacted that stand with women, from those laws we can enact a family law, to be more specific on the rights of women.”