Written by Patience Nyangove
Thursday, 17 September 2009
“There cannot be true democracy unless women’s voices are heard. There cannot be true democracy unless women are given the opportunity to take responsibility for their own lives” - Hillary Clinton, United States Secretary of State
SINCE attaining independence in 1990, Namibia has made great strides in ensuring that more women enter into politics and occupy decision making positions, however this time around the ruling Swapo party has failed dismally to ensure that Namibian women get a fair share of the cake as their male counterparts.
Looking at the Swapo party’s list of candidates to the National Assembly as “elected” at the Electoral College for the November National Assembly elections one would be forgiven to think that this is still the late 70s and the early 80s when women’s roles were defined as those of mere housewives or perennial backbenchers for those that make it into politics.
Although figuratively speaking Swapo managed to meet SADC’s (Southern African Development Community’s) 30% quota, it does not need a gender guru or a rocket scientist to conclude that placing the majority of women at the bottom positions narrows their chances of making it into the National Assembly let alone Cabinet which currently only has six women.
On the Swapo list released on September 5 after the party’s Electoral College, only two women namely Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana, current Swapo Party Secretary General and Minister of Justice and Petrina Haingura, Secretary of the Swapo Women’s Council and Deputy Minister of Health, have made it to the top 20 of the Swapo list. Iivula-Ithana occupies an impressive number two position while Haingura is at a comfortable number eight position.
Besides Iivula-Ithana and Haingura, other women comfortably positioned are Doreen Sioka presently the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly and Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila the Minister of Finance, at numbers 23 and 24 respectively. The rest are between 50 and 72.
In the 2004 elections, Swapo secured 55 seats in the National Assembly and if the same scenario has to repeat itself this year, it will mean that all the women listed below 55 would automatically be out of the race.
With a new party in the running for elections, the Rally for Progress and Democracy (RDP) no one really knows what the outcome will be. Should the opposition parties get more seats than the combined 17 they currently, it will mean that Swapo will seriously fall behind SADC’s prescribed representation.
In 1997 SADC countries declared that of all political candidates who stand for elections should be 30% women while those appointed to decision-making structures should also comprise 30% women. However, most countries in the region have failed dismally to meet their quota.
SADC also recently committed itself to achieving 50% women representation across all sectors by 2015, however, only time will tell whether they will achieve this feat after failing miserably to meet the 30% over a decade after agreeing to abide by it.
According to a Guide to Namibian Politics by Graham Hopwood, the 2008 Edition, only one level of the Namibian Government had passed the 30% mark when women’s representation in local authorities reached 43%.
During the 2004 elections, party lists for councils with 10 or fewer members had to include at least three women while lists for larger councils had to feature five women.
However, Hopwood further says equivalent measures were not been introduced for other elections.
At the regional level in 2004, only 12 out of 107 regional councillors were women (11%) and only three of the 13 regional governors were women.
In the National Assembly election of the same year, 21 out of the 78 members were women. This translates to 27% - three percent short of the 30%.
Currently only six women including the country’s Deputy Prime Minister Dr Libertina Amathila are full Cabinet members out of 21 men who also make part of the 27-member Cabinet.
If the Swapo list is anything to go by, it looks as if the Environment and Tourism Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah who is number 55 and Minister of Gender Equality and Child Welfare, Marlene Mungunda, seating at 63 - nine places from the bottom - might not find their way back into Cabinet again or possibly in the National Assembly.
Head of the Gender Unit at the University of Namibia, Michael Konde, says he is disappointed with Swapo’s list where most women occupy the bottom positions as it is a setback on the 50-50 women-men representation they are fighting for.
“Swapo being the ruling party commands a general following and hence if Swapo sneezes the nation catches a cold. They should have been the ones spearheading this campaign for having more women in the National Assembly. It’s worrisome that we might not achieve the 50% quota because most of the other parties even if they field a lot of women candidates, they will be defeated by Swapo.
“Swapo’s list is a big slap and a step backwards in terms of women upliftment,” he said.
Women’s Action for Development Director, Veronica de Klerk says the positioning of women on party lists, which will determine their role in decision-making in Government, remains an enormous challenge for them and their performance to earn credibility and respect of their male counterparts.
De Klerk says women should also drop the “Pull Her Down” PHD syndrome through gossip and slandering each other in political circles when one of them makes it in the political world.
“Women themselves should be instrumental in identifying and voting for fellow-women who are capable to contribute meaningfully in Parliament. It is imperative that women should, therefore, stand together; work together; be proud of the each other’s achievements and have faith in one another’s abilities.”
De Klerk says she has witnessed the sad reality where women would rather vote for a man than for a woman because of jealousy or a lack of faith in women’s abilities to excel.
“WAD therefore, earnestly cautions that the so-called “Pull-Her-Down syndrome” among women is extremely dangerous for their advancement in society, because the more women fight among themselves, the longer men will continue to rule!”
Swapo secretary for women affairs Haingura defended her party’s Electoral College list saying names on the list were sent from each wing across the country and elections were held and everybody voted for candidates of their choice.
Haingura said the SADC 30% quota is only a protocol and Swapo does not have to abide by it.
“Each region sent a man and a woman and you can’t tell people who to vote for. It is not the end of the world. There is always next time,” she said.
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