Mojtama Al’Mara, meaning Women’s Community, is a community-building practice, a healing justice practice, and a collective care practice. It exists to nurture sustained feminist communities where South Sudanese women and girls can reflect, learn, heal, organize, and support one another in conditions shaped by patriarchy, conflict, and economic precarity. Through Feminists’ Talking Circles, community convenings, girls’ feminist leadership, and women-centered forums, particularly with young women, girls, and grassroots women leaders, Mojtama Al’Mara creates intentional spaces for feminist consciousness-raising. These spaces support women to name patriarchy as a system, understand how it intersects with other forms of oppression, and develop shared language to make sense of their lives within social, cultural, political, and economic constraints.
Healing justice is foundational to Mojtama Al’Mara. The program recognizes that South Sudanese women have carried disproportionate emotional, social, spiritual, and material burdens, often while being expected to continue organizing, advocating, and caring for others without pause. Mojtama Al’Mara refuses to separate healing from feminist work. Rest, reflection, emotional processing, and mutual care are treated as political necessities, not luxuries.
Embedded within Mojtama Al’Mara is Social Justice Sonduk, the Village’s collective care and emergency support mechanism. Sonduk, a word that loosely translates to “suitcase” or “safety deposit box,” draws on familiar community-based practices of pooling resources to protect one another in moments of crisis. Through this mechanism, the Village sets aside resources to support community members facing urgent needs, including security threats, sexual and gender-based violence, or moments of acute vulnerability that require immediate solidarity. Social Justice Sonduk is not charity or individual assistance. It is a practice of collective responsibility, grounded in the understanding that survival, safety, and dignity are shared concerns. It reflects the Village’s commitment to ensuring that the community is not only a space for dialogue and learning, but also a place where women are materially supported to land back on their feet after harm.
The program prioritizes trust, continuity, and relational depth. These are not one-off workshops but long-term spaces where women show up fully. As a practice, Mojtama Al’Mara is a living infrastructure for consciousness, healing, and collective strength. It is where community is built, care is practiced, and feminist solidarity is made tangible.