BETTY ACHAN OGWARO

Position: Member of Parliament
Organization: Government of Southern Sudan
Country: Sudan
Biography

Betty Achan Ogwaro is a parliamentarian in the government of southern Sudan (GOSS). She is a member of the mediation team negotiating peace settlement between the Lord’s Resistance army (LRA) and the government of Uganda, and the first Sudanese woman to challenge Joseph Kony, the LRA’s top leader, face-to-face for the group’s atrocities in the Sudan and their lack of commitment to the peace process. Ms. Ogwaro, an activist, is currently president of the Southern Sudanese Women’s Parliamentarian League, which advances the participation of Sudanese women leaders in politics and decision making. She is also the chair of the Southern Sudanese Women Caucus, where influential women’s organizations work to respond to the needs of Sudanese communities. She is a member of several committees, including specialized committee for Gender, Social Welfare, Youth and Sports. She was the chairperson for the Sudanese People Liberation Movement (SPLM) chapter office in the Midlands from 1999 to 2005, and is one of the women leaders who successfully negotiated the inclusion of 25% minimum women representation at all levels of governance as part of the Comprehensive Peace AgreementMs. Ogwaro is a founder of “Windows for Sudan,” an NGO striving to advance the status of Sudanese women and promote their participation in development. She also served as a consultant to UNIFEM on women’s issues and women’s leadership. Ms. Ogwaro holds a master’s degree in veterinary science from the University of Edinburgh. She combines her parliamentarian work with promoting women in agriculture.(1.2007)

Read more about this Network member:

POLITICS-AFRICA: Sudanese Women Meet at AU Summit
By Yazeed Kamaldien, Inter Press Service
February 2, 2008

Contact:
Email: b_ogwaro at yahoo.co.uk

Phone: +249 1220.4514;  +249 1222.04.514