Africa-Press – Namibia. “AFRICAN women, if we continue to work together, support one another, and put to shame those who believe women continue to suffer from the pull-down syndrome, we will go a long way to significantly contribute to the political agenda and the economic emancipation of our continent.”
These were the words of deputy prime minister and minister of international relations and cooperation Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, who was on Sunday speaking at the 60th commemmoration of the Pan-African Women’s Organisation (Pawo) in Windhoek. She said whereas the Namibian government has not introduced gender parity on its parliamentary benches, Swapo has already done this in its structures.
Nandi-Ndaitwah said the party’s policy made it possible for Namibia to have over 40% of women representatives in the National Assembly.
The day is dedicated to observe and honour the crucial role African women have played in the development of the continent, and to remember the contributions they made to the continent’s liberation from colonialism and apartheid, she said.
“Pawo is designated as a specialised agency of the African Union, with the aim of moving forward to promote the women’s development agenda to the benefit of the continent,” she said. Nandi-Ndaitwah said gender equality is also at the centre of AU programmes, guided by the Maputo Protocol on women empowerment, and has taken a lead by ensuring that the principles of 50/50 are implemented at commission level.
“For us to realise Agenda 2063, ‘The Africa We Want’, and in line with the theme of this celebration, human capital must be developed to end hunger, domestic and gender-based violence, conflicts and war on the continent,” she said.
In June, former president Sam Nujoma said Namibia is ready for a female head of state, which analysts said could boost the chances of both Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah and prime minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila to get the nod as the ruling party’s candidate for the 2024 presidential election at the upcoming Swapo congress.
Later in June, Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) parliamentarian Elma Dienda said after 32 years it is time for a female president to run the country.
She said political parties have failed to apply the Southern African Development Community (SADC) initiative aimed at equal representation of men and women in decision-making and political positions. She attributed the failure to the absence of a law enforcing 50/50 gender representation.
She said Swapo was the only party with such a policy in its constitution. Dienda at the time said Namibia is capable of producing a woman president.
“I believe the prime minister, our deputy prime minister, and our minister of justice perform very well in what they are doing for our country in our parliament, and we are proud,” she said.
Dienda, however, bemoaned a lack of support.
‘NOT NEW’
Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana, a Swapo stalwart and member of the Swapo Women’s Council’s central committee, said at the time that the call for a woman president is not new.
“Other countries have had a woman president, and our constitution does not prohibit a woman from contesting for the high office,” she said during an interview with The Namibian.
She said her only concern is that women fight among each other.
The former home affairs minister added that Swapo’s gender policy, which she championed, had been sabotaged.
She said the majority of female candidates chosen “could be silenced or are unable to respond to anything”.
“Women from unknown backgrounds were lined up and the results were obvious. That is where I realised the strategy for us to get this 50/50 representation was sabotaged in a way,” she said.
The first woman Swapo secretary general took the blame for not offering an implementation formula when pushing for the 50/50 gender policy, she said.
“I think in the near future we will have to find a platform and talk about it. We should not have a privileged position and allow it to be turned against us.”
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