What are the vital issues that women and feminist in Namibia today consider to be burning importance?
It is vital to reflect on the ideology of feminism and the advancement of women’s rights. These concepts carry close intersectional relations as feminism is advocating for equality, non-discrimination and justice for all irrespective of sex, race, colour, ethnic origin, religion, creed or social or economic status. Furthermore, the women’s right advances the recognition and protection of women’s human and legal rights.
The intersectional relations of these terminologies have been misunderstood by men who foresee feminism as a women’s agenda setting. However, it is imperative to interrogate the concepts of patriarchy as it carries a culture within the social setting and the social system which impacts on the injustices experienced by women.
The Namibian women and girl’s experience a number of issues that we can translate as challenges and these realities experienced has been generational of which over year’s reform have been key in advancing constitutional provisions of equality, non-discrimination and equity for all.
It is however noticeable that Namibia has made great strides in amplifying gender equality in all forms by ensuring policy and legislative reform improves the social economic standards of women and girls.
These realties have been advocated by the activists and the women’s movement of which we continue to advance issues such as eradication of poverty, access and improvement of education and training, access to land-housing, access to justice, political participation, improved policy and legislative frameworks that promotes bodily autonomy-protection and integrity, inequality in employment, harmful cultural practices, access economic market decision making and participation , lack of gender budgeting and consistent gender mainstreaming.
These issues are prudent to ensuring all people’s human rights are recognised, respected and protected to ensure social justice is attained and socio-economic development
What are Namibian women and feminist concerns about?
As mentioned above the realities and issues are key elements that shape the narrative that defines the women’s movement’s concerns. However just to contextualise these concerns in perpective of the current burning experiences…
We the women’s movement believe that government can do more to improve access to information by ensuring good governance, transparency and accountability by public service is a priority as this shall ensuring the reality of reform within the system and social setting is attained.
The recognition of women and girls vulnerabilities to sexual and gender based violence, the exclusion and lack of recognition of sexual and gender diverse persons within service provisions, the need to redress the basis of macro-economic policies that favour men and boys at the expense of the other gender, the lack of comprehensive mental health care and social service , the lack of improved and strategic advancement of women and girls in policy influencing, lack of advancing access to justice for women and girls and the lack of women equal participation, representation and compensation of women in labour, Lack of recognition and improvement of women and girls mainstreaming in agricultural and technological development. And finally Namibia needs to commit to implement cross cutting gender budgeting and mainstreaming within in all departments of state, private and civil society.
What has been the biggest challenge for you as a feminist over the years.
As a feminist, human rights and communications activists it has been evident that transformational change and development requires intersectional dialogues and critical thinking. However, the advocacy work has proven that the social realities and system reforms still carry high practice of patriarchy of which directly impedes on the voice, representation and affirmation of women and girls. This consistently requires us as women’s rights activists to contain our resilience towards violations experienced based on one’s gender.
Working with women, girls and sexual minority groups have proven that the indivisibility of their humanity vs their challenges has manifested that a lot of community engagements, leadership engagement and visibility on key issues are streamed to ensure consistent dialogue and interrogation however self-censorship, cultural, political and ideological differences has always deflected humanitarian consideration on the issues in discussion.
I have also realised that the objectification of women and girls remains a major challenge as power dynamics have override the autonomy and dignity of us. Furthermore, I find policy, legal reform and justice for women, girls and sexual and gender minorities redresses very slow as whilst our lives keep deteriorating due to the challenges that keeps piling up.
And finally there is a need to revive the women’s and girls’ movements in the country in order for us to set a collective national agenda that would be streamlined into action and direct tracking. Currently we have elements of activists and organisations advancing issues concerning our communities and the nation however as women to need to become strategic and bold in the what we envision to better our lives and the country we live in. This collectiveness should also encourage the women’s movement to engage the men’s movement in order for direct dialogue and partnerships to emerge by ensuring men do not fear feminists and understand that all men who seek reform, equality and justice for all part are with no doubt part of the feminist ideology and narrative of change.
By: Linda Magano Baumann
19 March 2021
20h48
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