Source: The Namibian
THE discourse on the gender quota has surfaced in Namibia again.
It is one of the topics in contemporary history, which seems not to go to rest. Gender quota politics are a driving force of the permanent revolution of women. As part of the permanent gender struggle, an increasing number of countries in the world have introduced various types of gender quota in the public sector to reach gender balance in political institutions.
The 1985 Nairobi Women's Conference served as a curtain-raiser for the 1995 Beijing Conference, after which most developing countries introduced the electoral gender quota during the mid- and late 1990's. Thus, the recently announced 50/50 representation by Swapo can be seen against the background of the Nairobi and Beijing platforms.
Consequently, several global initiatives such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDG)/ African Union and the SADC Gender and Development Protocol were undertaken to mainstream gender issues in policy planning and development. Both the MDG and SADC Gender and Development Protocol aim to promote gender equality and empower women socially, economically and politically.
In compliance with the SADC Gender and Development Protocol and more importantly in view of the envisaged new Electoral Law, the Swapo Party has amended its constitution in order to bring about a 50/50 representation. However, central to this development is posing a critical question on how gender quota can be incorporated in the national development strategy and how it can be implemented in the private sector, too.
Some critics of the 50/50 representation argue that the gender quota system is merely another tactic to wheelchair otherwise undeserving and unqualified women into positions. Equally, others opined that it is yet another class rearrangement where the elite partition themselves into positions. However, this matter cannot be looked at from a mono-dimensional view but only be evaluated in consideration of the existing national conditions, as well as an application of best leading practices from countries such as Rwanda, Mozambique, Singapore and Latin American countries. The overall emphasis and focus should be on developing legislation and strengthening the existing National Gender Policy that will bring an impact in the business, sports, religious, agriculture, education and security sectors. The continuous institutionalisation of the concept and most importantly, the development of strategies and mechanisms that are aimed at identifying, developing and retaining women that can add value through capacity building are essential.
Therefore, the proposed gender quota should strive to possess a national characteristic. This can be achieved through the development of a deliberate deployment strategy of women at local and international institutions. As mandated in the African Youth Charter, the National Youth Council should also drive an integrated young woman development and empowerment strategy at all levels of society. Capacity development should be carried out from an early age in a girl child's life where we look at aspects of access to quality education and exposure to different leadership platforms.
As a country we find ourselves at a crossroads where hard decisions should be made. From an international perspective we are about to come to the end of the Millennium Development Goals in 2015. Therefore we need to ask ourselves whether we have met the required targets as far as gender equity is concerned and what we should do in order to steadily move forward. As a country we should acknowledge the need for adequate investment where resources are placed into meaningful institutions. There is also a need for the development of integrated leadership empowerment programs and high level specialised women training institutions aimed at nurturing talent and potential amongst women. In the absence of institutions of this nature, another need arises to create programmes that bring about effective mentoring and coaching initiatives as well as the inclusion of young women on exchange programmes to develop national champions. As a nation we need to put in place high level targets that need to be monitored and evaluated periodically accompanied by a high level sustainability plan.
The issue of women empowerment should not only be left in the policy and planning phase but should be advanced in a comprehensive implementation strategy that cuts across all sectors of our economy. In the absence of the aforementioned, the debate around the issue of gender equality shall always be deemed as either a myth or reality.