Women reflect on progress

TODAY is International Women’s Day and Namibian women will mark the day with a mixed sense of achievement and concern.

While strides have been made to include women in decision-making, violence against women and children remains a serious problem, notes the United Nations Population Fund in Namibia (UNFPA). UNFPA Representative in Namibia Nuzhat Ehsan said yesterday that while it was commendable that Namibia had placed women in key positions within Cabinet, most Namibian women were still not in a position to decide freely on key issues that affect their lives because they lacked both the opportunity and the resources to do so.”A sad manifestation of this is gender-based violence.Greater and more concerted action is required, particularly with regard to enforcing the implementation of enacted laws and legislation, allocating more resources for women’s health, including reproductive health, and making sure statistics and data collection highlight not only this situation of women, but equally, the many important contributions they make to the economic and social well-being of this country,” said Ehsan.Today, dignitaries, including First Lady Penehupifo Pohamba, will gather at the Sam Nujoma Stadium in Windhoek to commemorate International Women’s Day under the theme: ‘Women in Decision-Making: Advocate for Elimination of Gender-based Violence’.In a statement this week, UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Ahmed Obaid said no enduring solutions to society’s most pressing problems would be found without the full empowerment and participation of women.”Women are not only life givers.They are peace builders and must play a role in conflict resolution and recovery.They are workers, even though their work is often undervalued and underpaid.They are the backbone of families, communities and societies, even though their work is often undervalued and underpaid,” said Obaid.Obaid has called for greater action in involving women in decision-making at all levels, especially in matters related to their own lives.The UNFPA said it recognised the progress made for the advancement of women over the years, and especially in the past year when Africa saw the installation of its first woman president – Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, while elsewhere Angela Merkel became Germany’s first female chancellor and Chile also elected its first woman president, Michelle Bachelet.”These victories represent important steps forward but we will have a long way to go before we reach gender parity in the political decision-making levels.Today only 16 per cent of legislators worldwide are women,” said Obaid.The UNFPA said it was concerned that millions of women worldwide were still denied the opportunity to make even the most basic decisions about marriage and childbearing.UN members have agreed to achieve universal access to reproductive health by 2015 as critical for the attainment of gender equality and the other Millennium Development Goals which aim to improve maternal health, reduce child mortality, combat HIV-AIDS and reduce poverty.The UNFPA says reproductive health and rights are fundamental to women’s empowerment.UNFPA Representative in Namibia Nuzhat Ehsan said yesterday that while it was commendable that Namibia had placed women in key positions within Cabinet, most Namibian women were still not in a position to decide freely on key issues that affect their lives because they lacked both the opportunity and the resources to do so.”A sad manifestation of this is gender-based violence.Greater and more concerted action is required, particularly with regard to enforcing the implementation of enacted laws and legislation, allocating more resources for women’s health, including reproductive health, and making sure statistics and data collection highlight not only this situation of women, but equally, the many important contributions they make to the economic and social well-being of this country,” said Ehsan.Today, dignitaries, including First Lady Penehupifo Pohamba, will gather at the Sam Nujoma Stadium in Windhoek to commemorate International Women’s Day under the theme: ‘Women in Decision-Making: Advocate for Elimination of Gender-based Violence’.In a statement this week, UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Ahmed Obaid said no enduring solutions to society’s most pressing problems would be found without the full empowerment and participation of women.”Women are not only life givers.They are peace builders and must play a role in conflict resolution and recovery.They are workers, even though their work is often undervalued and underpaid.They are the backbone of families, communities and societies, even though their work is often undervalued and underpaid,” said Obaid.Obaid has called for greater action in involving women in decision-making at all levels, especially in matters related to their own lives.The UNFPA said it recognised the progress made for the advancement of women over the years, and especially in the past year when Africa saw the installation of its first woman president – Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, while elsewhere Angela Merkel became Germany’s first female chancellor and Chile also elected its first woman president, Michelle Bachelet.”These victories represent important steps forward but we will have a long way to go before we reach gender parity in the political decision-making levels.Today only 16 per cent of legislators worldwide are women,” said Obaid.The UNFPA said it was concerned that millions of women worldwide were still denied the opportunity to make even the most basic decisions about marriage and childbearing.UN members have agreed to achieve universal access to reproductive health by 2015 as critical for the attainment of gender equality and the other Millennium Development Goals which aim to improve maternal health, reduce child mortality, combat HIV-AIDS and reduce poverty.The UNFPA says reproductive health and rights are fundamental to women’s empowerment.