NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT: ‘Empower boys, girls equally’

DAR ES SALAA: NAMIBIAN President Dr Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has urged a dual focus on empowering both boys and girls for national development, saying true societal progress hinges on the advancement of all.

She made the call in Dar es Salaam yesterday during a public lecture at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) titled “Inspiring Women to Break Barriers in Leadership Positions: A Personal Experience.”

The lecture was a key engagement during her two-day working visit to Tanzania.

President Nandi-Ndaitwah detailed her own journey and highlighted legislative reforms that have significantly advanced gender equality in Namibia.

She commenced her lecture by pointing out the ongoing efforts in Namibia to address the disparity in the educational attainment of boys and girls.

Dr Nandi-Ndaitwah said that while significant strides have been made in empowering the girl child, evidenced by the majority of graduates at the University of Namibia being women, there’s a growing concern about boys lagging.

“We invested heavily in the girl child and they are doing very well. But the ratio, population-wise, is not big. It’s just 51 per cent women and 49 per cent men. So, you cannot have such a big gap when they are graduating at university. Our boys, they are in trouble nowadays,” she said.

This imbalance, she argued, necessitates a shift in focus to ensure that boys also receive the support they need to thrive. She said that Namibia’s First Gentleman is now championing initiatives for the boy child, aiming to bring them to par with girls in educational and leadership trajectories.

Drawing from her personal experiences, President Nandi-Ndaitwah recounted the deeply ingrained discriminatory laws against women in post-independence Namibia.

She shared a personal anecdote about her struggle to register her unemployed husband under her medical aid, a right denied to women who were not considered breadwinners.

“You can imagine you are now in a house when you get sick, and your son, you have a medical aid, but your husband, because he is the head of the household, but he’s unemployed, is now left in the cold,” she said.

This personal affront propelled her to advocate for change, leading to a landmark cabinet discussion and ultimately, a reform that now allows Namibian women to register their spouses and children in their medical aid as long as they are the higherearning individual.

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Another significant legislative battle, she spearheaded as Minister for Women Affairs and Child Welfare was the Marriage Persons Equality Act.

This groundbreaking law abolished the concept of a man as the head of the household, a provision that sparked considerable debate but ultimately passed due to the unwavering unity of women across the political spectrum in Namibia.

“This act liberated married women, granting them the right to buy property and assets without their husband’s signature, a freedom previously exclusive to men,” she said.

President Nandi-Ndaitwah also spoke about the strides made within her political party, SWAPO, where a 50/50 gender representation is now enshrined in the party constitution across all structures.

This commitment has directly contributed to Namibia’s Parliament achieving a remarkable 47 per cent female representation, largely due to SWAPO’s zebra list electoral system, which alternates male and female candidates.

She further elaborated on her decision to form a genderbalanced cabinet, noting that it was a natural outcome of her commitment to integrity, honesty and merit, rather than a conscious effort to fulfil a quota.

Her cabinet, formed on March 22nd, was serendipitously composed of seven men and seven women.

Emphasising that her election as President was based on her proven service to the Namibian people and not merely her gender, President Nandi-Ndaitwah cautioned against the narrative that women in leadership are immune to failure.

She stressed that errors made by women leaders should be viewed as human errors, not a collective failure of women. Her message to young girls and aspiring leaders was clear: “Be yourself. Pursue your career.

We can all be leaders. We can all perform.” She further advised young leaders to remain focused on their goals and not be swayed by external pressures, including those from social media.

“As long as you know where you are going, it’s you who know yourself and nobody else. There were stories of Netumbo and whatever, and not only people who are far from you, even people who are closer to you… just remain focused.”

President Nandi-Ndaitwah said. She urged the youth, particularly those at UDSM, to leverage the excellent education available to them in a knowledge-based society, reminding them of her own challenging educational journey under apartheid, where she had to take mature entry examinations after only completing Form Three due to restrictions.

President Nandi-Ndaitwah also touched upon her long and arduous journey in politics, from being a quiet child to a committed political activist, facing arrest and exile.

She shared a humorous anecdote about learning Swahili during her time as SWAPO’s chief representative in East Africa, driven by a strict six-month deadline set by Tanzania’s then-Minister for Foreign Affairs.