The Role of Diaspora Women in Peacebuilding: The Case of South Sudan Refugee Women in Eldoret, Kenya

Women have continued to play significant roles in peace building throughout the world. The South Sudanese women in particular have participated in various peace building processes in South Sudan that led to signing of various peace agreements including the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and the 2013 Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (ARCSS). Despite making immense contributions during Sudan’s civil wars, South Sudanese women have continued to be underrepresented and excluded in the peace processes in South Sudan. South Sudan conflict has been devastated by civil wars that have displaced over 1.7 million South Sudanese since 2013. The successive local, national and international peace agreements to settle the South Sudan conflict have not provided durable peace to the country. Consequently, diaspora women refugees have been engaging in peacebuilding processes aimed at restoring peace in South Sudan. The main objective of this paper was to examine the role of South Sudanese women refugees living in Eldoret in navigating the spaces of peace in South Sudan. This paper argues that women in the diaspora can contribute immensely to peace processes in their countries and recommends an all-inclusive approach to peacebuilding in South Sudan, and further examines the approaches employed by women in restoring peace. The data for this case study was collected through in-depth interviews with participants, focus group discussions and observation. The findings indicate that South Sudanese women were actively engaged in promoting peace among the South Sudanese refugees in Kenya and those in South Sudan. This included economic empowerment, education of South Sudanese children and cultural events aimed at promoting patriotism among the South Sudanese from various ethnic divides. For lasting pace in South Sudan, the paper recommends that the South Sudan government should implement the peace agreements in order to end conflicts in South Sudan. This will encourage the refugees to return home and rebuild their country. In addition, the international community should support women refugees in their quest for peace by allocating funds to them. This is due to the fact that most host countries do not allocate funds to refugees.