Farming okra leading to gender role reversal within Dinka communities

Growing a green vegetable has turned a South Sudanese refugee in Brisbane into a kitchen trailblazer and has raised questions about whether gender roles are changing within Dinka communities.

South Sudanese refugee Manon Athian wanted to save a few dollars by growing his favourite food, okra, in his back garden.

Adapting to life in Australia has forced some in the community to confront long-held traditional views, such as the role of men and women.

“Okra is the woman's work because it goes to the kitchen,” Mr Athian said with a smile.

Okra has been grown in Australia for more than 150 years, and flourishes in temperate to tropical climates, but is not always readily available.

It is a common cooking ingredient in Africa, the Mediterranean, Middle East and throughout Asia.

Mr Athian started growing okra in his suburban Brisbane backyard, so he could afford to feed his family.

“You cook this one with anything, dried fish, fresh meat, dried meat, and chicken. Oh, chicken is very nice,” he said.

“When you buy it in the market, it’s very expensive. The money, I lose all the time.

“Now I've got them here.”

South Sudanese Dinka man Mana Athian chops okra grown in his back yard in Brisbane. Source: Stefan Armbruster SBS

One kilogram of okra can retail for $15, and Dinka families traditionally consume kilograms of it a week.

From growing okra, it didn't take long before he started to cook it too.

“Some people are not happy, they say what I'm doing is wrong, is not good for culture,” he said.

“(In) Dinka culture, a man cannot cook.”

But gender roles are changing as South Sudanese men and women adapt in Australia.

“Some Sudanese (are) separating, are really suffering, because they don’t know how to cook,” he said.

“Some women say, ’Why you cooking, teach other men? Men are going to leave women and look after themselves’.”

Mr Athian shared his new skill with friends and family back home in South Sudan via videos and on social media.

Executive producer of SBS Radio’s Dinka Program, Ajak Chiengkou, said: “In South Sudan, in the house, it is automatically the responsibility of the wife, so a man is not always welcome."  

“If you are seen close to women’s things, they will compose a song about you, and sing that you are a controlling freak," he said.

"Now in South Sudan they think our men went to Australia and started cooking.

“So they perceive that Australia, here women have more rights than men. They think, ‘Okay, Australia is putting our men into the kitchen and women are now more free’.

“Those cultural values now are changing because of the pressure of being in Australia.”

Mr Athian has harvested, and is cooking okra with beef stew when his teenage daughter Susan arrives home.

“I think my dad's cooking is great because it's teaching a great example for the kids,” Susan said.

“He's not going with the African-normal culture.”

Mr Chiengkou has praised the work done by Mr Athian.

“That is well cooked by a man,”Mr Chiengkou said before trying a mouthful of stew.

“This is a good one. This is great. Manon is doing a great thing for (Dinka) fathers in Australia.”