Widows’ Voice & Support Initiative – South Sudan

The Widows’ Voice & Support Initiative – South Sudan

Women in our society are judged when they are silent, and condemned when they speak. Either way, they are not truly heard.

Today marks 81 days since I lost my husband and 48 days for community women of Abiemnom whose husbands and children were buried in a mass grave on 1st March 2026, The pain is still fresh, still heavy, still living with us every single day. I am not only mourning, I am carrying the full weight of life, responsibility, voice and survival for my children, alone.

And I ask myself, how is a woman expected to survive like this in silence?

I am speaking today as Akuot Sarah Dut, directly to the country I have loved, served, and believed in. For over 14 years, I contributed in seen and unseen ways. I moved from office to office with my qualifications, searching for an opportunity to work and serve formally but I was never given a fair chance.

Since 2015 up to today, I have struggled to find stable employment in my own country.

Instead, I chose to volunteer, to serve the vulnerable, to give even when I had little because I believed that serving my country and my people matters. But today, when I need support the most, I stand alone.

My husband is gone. I am left with children to raise children who now have no father, no uncle to step in, no system to support them. Everything rests on me.

And still, society expects me to be quiet.

This is not just my story. This is the reality of many South Sudanese widows left with responsibilities, with children, with pain, with no support system, and no voice.

That is why the Widows’ Voice & Support Initiative – South Sudan exists.

This initiative is created to:

- Unmute the voices of women especially the widows

- Restore dignity and recognition

- Provide basic support such as clothing, dignity kits, and essential needs

- Advocate for women especially widows and their children to be seen, heard, and supported

It is built from real experiences and speaks for thousands of women who are suffering in silence.

What kind of society do we want to be?

A society that only shows concern when someone dies, and forgets the living the next day? A society that fears the voice of a woman more than it fears her suffering?

I refuse to accept that.

Let women speak.

Let women be heard.

Let women be supported, not judged.

Because when you silence a woman, you risk the future of her children and the generations that follow.

Today, I choose to speak not only for myself, but for every woman who is suffering in silence.

Enough is enough.

#ThewidowsVoice

#Thewidowsaredying

#Widowsarechoking

#Womenaresittingonfire

#Womenareburning

#UnmuteHerVoice