Africa-Press – Namibia. NAMIBIA’S President, Her Excellency Dr. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, on the occasion of the lecture at the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, gave a lecture on the history of female leadership as well as her personal experience in becoming Namibia’s first female president.
The president chose the theme, “Inspiring Women to Break Barriers in Leadership Positions: A Personal Experience from H.E. Dr. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah” in the address, stating that the history of women’s emancipation is long, but very rich and inspiring.
The full speech is below:
It is a great pleasure for me to be back in Dar es Salaam and particularly to the University of Dar-es-Salaam, A Pan-African University, where in 2020 I was honoured to have been awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters (Honoris Causa). It is a recognition that I will always cherish.
I have been requested to have a conversation with you under the topic, “INSPIRING WOMEN TO BREAK BARRIERS IN LEADERSHIP POSITIONS: A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE FROM MYSELF”.
The history of women’s emancipation is long, but very rich and inspiring. It can be traced back to the time when women fought for suffrage and property rights. In recent years, following important gains in women’s rights, the fight shifted to reproductive rights, social rights and the place of women in politics. It is against this background that the main theme of the 4th World Conference on Women in Beijing, 1995 was “EQUALITY, DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE”.
I am pleased to be here to speak to share my story, which I hope has contributed to women breaking barriers. Before I do so, let me recall the motto of the University of Dar es Salaam, which reads: “Hekima ni Uhuru” which means “Wisdom is Freedom”. In other words, when you have knowledge, you have the power to free yourself.
Leadership skills are not determined by gender. It is common knowledge that men and women are equal and can make equal contributions in leadership, and can contribute to public life for nation-building and development. I must say that it took focus and discipline for me, and may I say, Her Excellency Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of the United Republic of Tanzania, to sit and stand where we are today. It has to be clear that we cannot all become Presidents. But for our engagement today, women and girls, your destiny is yours. I can also assure you that with focus and discipline you can realize your dreams. The road may be rough, but what is yours is yours, and no one will take it.
Growing up, I have clearly understood that there is a reason why in every colonial system, the oppressed were always deprived of education. In fact, when you colonise the mind, you conquer a person. It is why Namibia has a rich history of wars of resistance against the German colonial forces and the South African apartheid regime. With reference to German colonial rule, what comes out prominently and dishearteningly is the Genocide of 1904-1908 Germans committed against our people, particularly the Ovaherero and Nama people.
For its part, apartheid laws divided people based on skin colour. Whites considered themselves as superior, while all blacks were classified as inferior. The situation of apartheid segregation sharpened the minds of the Namibian people, which led to the political mobilization of the masses of our people in the late 1950s. Political mobilization at that time gave birth to SWAPO on 19 April 1960. The formation of SWAPO gave the Namibian people political confidence to reach out to the international community in search of political and diplomatic support, aiming to politically free our country.
As people who were yearning for independence, and while the occupation forces were determined to oppress us, SWAPO decided to take up arms to wage the war of liberation. SWAPO established its military wing as an effective tool at its disposal to free the country. The first confrontation between the South African colonial forces and SWAPO military wing known as the People’s Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN) was on 26 August 1966 inside Namibia. That first battle remains a watershed moment in the history of our country.
Important to note is that Tanzania was the main base of liberation movements in Africa and mostly Southern Africa. It was therefore, not by default that the formation of PLAN took place in Tanga Province, here in Tanzania, under the leadership of Julius Mwalimu Nyerere, the Founding President. PLAN combatants who engaged the enemy deep inside Namibia, were all Kongwa trainees. We, the people from Southern African countries will remain indebted, and swill cherish the support and contribution made by the Tanzanian people to our freedom.
Let me now tell you my personal story and the journey I have travelled. My parents told me that I was a very quiet person. But most of the time I would assist others, specifically those who were younger and less privileged members of our village. Later in my political career I became part of the Party’s top leadership. However, l always had a good and closer working relationship with those in mid-leadership, including the rank-and-file members of our Party. Such relationships and cooperation have empowered me and became my compass as a young girl from one of Namibia’s rural areas. My political journey started while I was 14 years and was sharpened by my resistance of the apartheid colonial system of segregation. I grew up in a hostile political environment and I became very much involved in political mobilization.
At the SWAPO Tanga Consultative Conference of 1969/70, the movement decided to set up political mobilization wings, namely, the Elders Council, Women and Youth Leagues. Subsequently, when we got this information back home as young people, we organized ourselves and set up SWAPO Youth League branches in our local areas.
In the early 1970’s, I was elected as the Chairman of SWAPO Youth League in the northern part of our country, known as “Ovamboland,” where the majority of our people lived at the time. As a leader, I was always in political confrontation with the apartheid colonial authorities, which led to my arrest and imprisonment in 1973. Having spent six months in prison, I was released on three years suspended sentence.
My release coincided with political developments in our northern neighbouring country, Angola, following the overthrow of the regime of Marcello Caitano in Portugal. These political developments in Portugal made it possible for Angola to become a gateway through which the majority of young Namibians escaped into exile into Zambia in 1974. At the age of 21 years, I left the country in 1974, leading a group of 4 boys.
Upon arrival in Lusaka, Zambia the same year, and having been a leader inside Namibia, I was included in a delegation to the United Nations General Assembly, where I addressed the UN Decolonization Committee on the situation in Namibia. It was not my first encounter with the UN. I had earlier met Dr. Kurt Waldheim, the Secretary General of the UN and Mr Alfred Escher, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General who visited Namibia in March and October in 1972 respectively.
As my journey in political leadership continued, I was elected in 1976 as a member of the Central Committee of SWAPO. In the course of time, I was appointed SWAPO Deputy Chief Representative for Central Africa, based in Lusaka, Zambia. Later, I was promoted to Chief Representative, before I was transferred to East Africa, to serve in the same position in Dar es Salaam. As the Representative for East Africa, I was also to cover the Organization of African Unity Liberation Coordinating Committee, which was responsible for soliciting support for the liberation movements, including SWAPO. These appointments made me the only female SWAPO Representative during the war of liberation. Namibia got her independence after the protracted liberation struggle, during which many previous lives of men and women were lost. But we cherish today the sacrifices they have made because their blood waters our freedom.
After independence, I occupied several ministerial positions. I started as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Director General of the Department of Women Affairs in the Office of the President, Minister of Women Affairs, Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Minister of Environment and Tourism, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of International Relations and Cooperation. Indeed, our fight for gender equality has been long, and we had to change discriminatory laws against women, including the introduction of the Married Persons Equality Act.
In 2017, I was elected as the first female Vice-President of SWAPO Party. In 2024, I became the first female Vice-President of the Republic of Namibia. In November 2024, I was elected by the Namibian people as President and was inaugurated on the 21’st or March this year, becoming the first female President of the Republic of Namibia. At an extra-ordinary Congress this year, I was elected as the first female President of SWAPO Party.
While the above may be seen as self-praising, but that’s the reality of my long and bumpy journey to reach where I am today. For 65 years, SWAPO as an Organisation I grew up in has been dominated by men. The same is true for the 35 years of our independence. As women, we must not be in competition with our male counterparts, but we must also not lag behind in the 21st century. We must also be seen as willing to exercise our equal rights and responsibilities. We must not wait to be wheelbarrowed into the positions of power and responsibilities.
Namibia has made commendable progress in gender equality. The SWAPO Party has included in its constitution 50/50 gender representation. It is why today we have historic feats with females who are occupying the highest positions in both the government and the SWAPO Party. The President and Vice-President of the Republic are female, and so is the Speaker of the National Assembly. Equally, the President and Secretary General of SWAPO Party, are female. This is a way of inspiring young women and breaking barriers in leadership positions.
As young women, the time is now to propel yourselves to leadership. You should also be inspired by outstanding female political leaders who came before me and served as Presidents. These are political leaders such as Her Excellency Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, Her Excellency Joyce Banda of Malawi, Her Excellency Sahle-Work Zewde of Ethiopia and ours truly, Her Excellency Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan of the United Republic of Tanzania.
It must be underscored that the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union (AU), the United Nations (UN) and many other regional and international organizations have put in place measures to facilitate women taking up leadership positions, thus enabling women to participate fully in decision-making. The time is now for women to prove to their communities, countries, Africa and the world that they are as capable as anybody else and they can occupy high administrative and political positions. My advice to women is to believe in themselves, develop self-confidence and trusting one’s abilities. The notion that women cannot occupy high positions is proven false.
I don’t believe that there is competition between men and women when it comes to leadership. That is not the issue. I therefore encourage you all to study hard and to prepare yourselves better for the future. Do not be discouraged by anyone when you want to occupy any leadership position in life. Follow your dreams. The world is evolving and the time is now for you to seize opportunities! Let’s realize gender equality in decision-making in our lifetime.
You have a role model right here in Her Excellency Mama Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of the United Republic of Tanzania. She is a great testimony that women can be strong leaders, just like their male counterparts.
In conclusion, I encourage both female and male students to support each other, especially when there are elective leadership positions. If there is a woman who is capable and fit for the position, she should be given an opportunity to prove herself and she has to be given support by men as well, and not by women only.
Women have the capacity and knowledge to build our countries, the continent of Africa and the world. Just give them a chance you will see wonders. To all students, study hard, focus, and have vision, then you will create the Africa We Want.
Source: Informanté
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