Women empowerment took the spotlight in Parliament yesterday with a historic launch of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) Namibia branch.
CWP will drive the advocacy of gender equality in law making decisions, based on all spheres of life, be it political, economic or cultural.
“All persons shall be equal before the law and no person shall be discriminated against on the basis of sex.” This was the message from National Council Chairperson Asser Kapere Kapere and joint president of the CWP who gave his blessing to the elected CWP Namibia leadership.
They four CWP members are Ruth Kepawa Nhinda (Chairperson), Sophia Swartz (Vice-Chairperson), Rosa Kunyanda Kavara (Member) and Alexia Manombe-Ncube (Member).
Pointing out the low statistics of women representation currently in Parliament, Kapere said there are only seven female MP’s out of of 26 National Council (NC) members, representing a mere 26.9 percent.
Accordingly this figure does not meet the SADC Declaration on Gender and Development requirement, which stipulates a target of at least 30 percent women’s representation.
“The new reality we face is that we only have three years to fulfil the revised target of 50% women representation in Parliament, as stipulated by the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development, which wants the target met by 2015,” explained Kapere.
“We must all convince ourselves that supporting women’s rights means supporting social vitality, political stability and economic growth, because in essence the sustainable development of our country can only benefit from the strength and wisdom of our women folk. There only two countries, Rwanda and Andorra, that have met the 50 percent women’s representation quota, so surely if they can do it – why not Namibia?” he asked.
It was also pointed out that many of the challenges currently facing women in Namibia have been influenced by the historical imbalance of power between men and women, social and structural factors such as poverty, unemployment, HIV/AIDS, as well as gender-based violence which is showing an alarming increase.
While the subject of boosting gender equality in Parliament took on a serious note, the occasion itself was joyous and celebrated with enthusiasm. Another first for Parliament, was an entertaining acoustic performance by Namibia’s young rising rock singer Savannah Collins (18) who captivated the session with her soulful voice and guitar skills, playing her rendition of Tracy Chapman’s “Soul” and an original titled ‘Just like a Woman’.
Parliamentarians were further treated to a heart-rending poetry reading by well-known radio presenter ‘Nu Nu’ Nesindano, who dedicated three powerful poems to the women of Namibia.
The lively Hifikepunye Pohamba Cultural Group also added a vibrant blend of Namibian home-grown dance magic to the proceedings.
The task of the new leadership will be to communicate and network with other established bodies and ministries such as the Ministry of Gender and Child Welfare, the Parliamentary Women Caucus and civil society organisations to mention some.
