In 2018, during preparations for the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence annual campaign, partners of Norwegian People’s Aid’s women’s organizations designed a collective campaign. At the time, the co-dreamer of what would later become Ma’Mara Sakit Village (Aluel Atem) was working within one of these partner organizations. During those discussions, she proposed a campaign name drawn directly from a recent personal encounter she had that week, during an argument, where she was told “ita mara sakit,” meaning“you are just a woman.” It was not the first time she had heard it. Nor was it unfamiliar to the other women in the room. Aluel proposed naming the campaign #MaMaraSakit, “not just a woman.”
That sentence, casual, dismissive, and socially sanctioned, captured a shared reality. South Sudanese women and girls are routinely diminished, spoken over, and reduced, not only in private interactions but in public life, politics, development work, and even within spaces meant to advance women’s rights. Naming the campaign #MaMaraSakit was a deliberate act of reclamation. It challenged a deeply normalized narrative and offered women language to push back. The campaign resonated widely. The phrase traveled across spaces and conversations, becoming a counter-narrative many women recognized as their own. When the formal partnership cycle ended and the campaign phased out, the phrase remained relevant. What emerged instead was a larger question: What would it mean to build something lasting around this refusa, Aluel thought. Ma’Mara Sakit Village (The Village) was born from that question.
A South Sudan where feminist communities shape social, cultural, economic, and political life, and where women and girls live with dignity, autonomy, and collective power.
To build and sustain feminist communities and infrastructure that enable South Sudanese women and girls to exercise collective agency through storytelling, cultural and economic work, healing justice, and movement-building.
A South Sudan where every person feels valued and dignified with the utmost autonomy and control over their lives.
Community means standing together with solidarity and coalition. The core understanding is that we as feminists exist as a collective and thus shape our relations, beliefs, values, actions, and plans.
We truthfully and honestly walk the talk. We question ourselves with the utmost self-awareness internally as much as we challenge the oppressive systems—accountability to ourselves, the community, our allies, and our supporters.
We believe the communities we work with are the experts in their experiences. We approach our work with humility, knowing every step is a learning opportunity.
We embody what we ask of others. We are authentic and committed to doing and living by our feminist principles, constantly checking privileges, and challenging our biases and internalized oppression.
We believe caring for self is fundamental for healing and sustaining our emotional, physical, spiritual, and psychological being. It enables us to stay rooted and committed to the constantly triggering and emotionally taxing work of dismantling the patriarchy.