Swapo Party Women Council secretary, Eunice Ipinge said Namibian women are the pillars of economic activities, because they are found everywhere in the informal markets sitting under the sun selling various items to feed their families.
Ipinge made these remarks in a media statement on Friday in commemoration of Human Rights Day which is always celebrated on 10 December worldwide. It is also observed in Namibia as Women’s Day to celebrate and pay tribute to Namibian women who sacrificed their lives during the liberation struggle.
Ipinge said Namibian women are contributing significantly to the cash flow of their families through various means in different social sectors. These range from young women employed as bar tenders, amid constant intimidation, harassment and sometimes humiliation by their male employers; staying put making little money to feed their families, to young women working as security guards who sometimes work long shifts, leaving their children behind.
“Women in Namibia are almost everything. At national level, we can see women leading some important offices and institutions, both public and private. So Namibia cannot be what she is today had it not been for the role of women in areas I alluded to above. This is real and true that women in Namibia are the backbone that warrants the need to think and act seriously and positively about women,” said Ipinge.
She added that while women are positively involved in the building of the country, people must be emphatically mindful that women are doing this by navigating through antagonistic forces. Because it is women who are abused and humiliated through rape, murder, torture and other evils that are perpetrated despite their positive contribution to the wellbeing of society.
“Our society must create a new normative practice that is aimed at protecting, cherishing and even celebrating women. This must not be limited to rhetoric only but to all physical, emotional, economic, social and spiritual empowerment and upliftment. So that then all women individually and collectively can go about their activities without fear of reprimand or fear of attacks by their senseless male counterparts,” stated Ipinge.
She further added that relevant ministries and other institutions should investigate the plight of women, because “if you empower a woman, it means you have empowered the whole family and society as well”.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
