Making a Case for the Critical Examination of Assignments of Responsibilities in the Reproductive Realm: Insights From South Sudan

Abstract

Drawing on interviews with purposefully selected informants (n = 44) and on focus group discussions (n = 5), this article critically examines and reflects upon the gendered assignments of responsibilities in the reproductive realm, in the context of South Sudan. Through this examination, it provides insight into the social practices of assigning and apportioning responsibilities in the reproductive realm; it exposes the nature of social relations, social positions, and vulnerabilities they signal, and the normative expectations they communicate, reiterate, and reproduce. In doing so, the social inequalities and entrenched gendered privileges in the society are made visible. The article argues that the ongoing social disruption in South Sudan offers a unique opportunity for intervening to renegotiate and reestablish a more equitable social compact. A case is made for public health policies to prioritize social interventions which challenge patriarchal privilege without simplistically problematizing men’s roles and actions in the reproductive realm.