South Sudan: Awut Deng Acuil, first woman appointed head of university

Awut Deng Acuil, South Sudanese Minister of Gender and Social Development, at a press conference called by a government delegation headed by the new First Vice President of South Sudan on August 17, 2016, in the capital Nairobi. Kenyan.

AFP - TONY KARUMBA

Text by: RFI Follow

3 min

For the first time in the history of South Sudan, a woman becomes president of the board of directors (CA) of a university.

Following a presidential decree broadcast in state media, Awut Deng Acuil was appointed head of the board of directors of Bahr El Ghazal University in the west of the country.

The 57-year-old woman had been Minister of Education since last February.

Once again, her journey promotes gender equality in the country.

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With our correspondent in Nairobi,

This is not the first time that Awut Deng Acuil has written the history of his country.

In August 2019, she became the first South Sudanese to become Minister of Foreign Affairs, the accomplishment of an extraordinary journey.

Married young, she spent many years in exile in Kenya, with her children, while her husband fought in the war between North and South Sudan, until losing his life.

Awut Deng Acuil then became a staunch activist for peace, human rights and gender equality.

Very early on, she got involved in several organizations, also training generations in conflict resolution.

A graduate in political science, she has forged a reputation which has led her to participate in numerous peace negotiations, particularly between the North and the South or between the Nuer and Dinka tribes.

Her activism was recognized internationally in 2002, when she became the second African woman to receive the Interaction Humanitarian Award, after Graça Machel, wife of Nelson Mandela.

Awut Deng Acuil has never ceased his activism while serving his country by becoming, in turn, Minister of Labor, Humanitarian Affairs or Gender.

Awut Deng Acuil's journey is reminiscent of that of another renowned woman, Victoria Yar Arol, the first South Sudanese woman to study at a university in Khartoum, when South Sudan failed. did not exist yet.

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