Politics needs women

A just-launched project will push for more female voices and activity on Namibia's political stage and help to enhance the capacity of women to take part in the next round of elections. The project, titled 'Promoting Women's Rights and Gender Equality in Political Representation in Namibia' will be led by the Women's Action for Development (WAD), with support from the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF).It hopes to motivate political parties to ensure more women's voices are included on parliamentary benches and to empower women to climb the political ladders in their parties. At the launch, WAD executive director Salatiel Shinedima said the absence of women in political leadership “limits fair and just contributions to issues discussed at leadership level”.He added that women's issues cannot be effectively addressed “without the participation of women … gone are the days when political leadership is solely associated with men and masculinity”.He further called on political parties to undertake “serious introspection” on whether enough is being done to prepare women for decision-making positions within party structures, in order to eventually assume positions in parliament. “If not, now parties are afforded a free opportunity through this project to prepare their female politicians for party leadership positions,” he said. WAD was recently awarded funding by the United UNDEF to implement a two-year project aimed at promoting women's rights and gender equality in political representation in Namibia. The project is aimed at sensitising the public on the importance of equal gender representation in politics at both national and regional levels.It also aims to empower women in politics with the necessary knowledge and skills that will enable them to fully participate in the electoral process as candidates representing their parties. The project will further focus on motivating political parties in Namibia to create an environment that will enable them to adopt gender-sensitive policies and a legislative framework that is conscious of gender equality during the nomination of party leaders and representatives. Deputy gender minister Lucia Witbooi praised the project's timing, noting that the 2019 and 2020 elections are an apt opportunity to improve women representation in top political ranks. Witbooi noted that Namibia has already taken significant strides in achieving gender equality in politics, with 46 women out of the 104 members in the Fifth National Assembly, a total of 44%. She urged women to consider a political career and said it “it is time to rise up and be active and productive in politics”, in order to steer the country into a new direction. In 2017, Namibia ranked 12th in the world in terms of the number of women in parliament, according to data presented in the Women in Politics 2017 Map.Witbooi this week praised WAD and Childline/Lifeline for jointly winning the recent African Gender Award and the continued efforts of civil society in Namibia to work alongside government to ensure national and international commitments are met. JANA-MARI SMITH

Politics needs women

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-07

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Politics needs women

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-07

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