Hundreds of women serving in South Sudan’s security forces gathered in the town of Aweil on Wednesday to mark Women in Uniform Day, highlighting efforts to increase women’s leadership and participation in the country’s security sector. The commemoration also marked the fourth anniversary of the South Sudan Security Sector Women’s Network, established in 2022 to strengthen women’s leadership, mentorship and professional development across the country’s organised forces. Organisers said the event reaffirmed support for gender-responsive security sector reform and greater representation of women in decision-making roles. The gathering comes as South Sudan implements security sector reforms and its National Action Plan on Gender and Security Sector Reform (2023–2027), aimed at improving women’s recruitment, retention, career progression and leadership within the security services. “We need the promotion of women in uniform across the security sector,” said Josephine Akon, chairperson of the South Sudan Security Sector Women’s Network.