A gender consultant with the office of the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for the Great lakes Region, Mary Okumu, observed that the peace protocol was extremely progressive as it was signed on the basis of the acceptance of the principles of self determination and democratic government where human rights informs the governance structures.

The 25 percent provision for women's representation to be enshrined in the constitution is a powerful acknowledgement of the role of women in the liberation struggle.

However, since the protocol is a power arrangement document, it does not dwell on the details of how governance will be delivered. And this is precisely where the concerns of women spring from because gender issues are central to the details of governance.

Currently, the Sudanese women are working on their charter which will include issues of democracy, governance, and women's human rights with which they have been occupied with over the years.

Women such as Gema Kumba, Awut Deng, Agnes Lasuba and Ann Itto who were part of the Sudan peace process are widely credited for their contribution to the inclusion of gender mainstreaming in the peace documents and for future blue prints of the new Sudan.

It was gratifying to hear John Garang de Mabior, the SPLM leader acknowledge Sudanese women's role in the struggle and he promised that they would play a central role in the reconstruction process and in the new political dispensation of Sudan.

Some of the specific demands by the Sudanese women are that they be included in the leadership and representation within democratic processes, basic rights to literacy and skills.

According to Mary Okumu, however, women are in a dilemma. "The 25 percent representation requirement for women is almost immediate, but they do not have the skills to fill the positions and there is need for women in the Diaspora to work together with Sudanese women to fill in the positions which will be created."

In some of the earlier agreements it was envisaged that there would be two additional ministries; namely Gender and Women's ministries to take into account the interests of women.

Rebecca Okwaci, who works with the Sudan Radio, says that whereas the peace agreement recognises gender as one of its key components, the current constitution of the government in Khartoum does not give recognition to women as a group or sector that needs protection.