A Country That Normalises Paternal Neglect

Namibia has made history with the election of its first woman president.

It’s not only a landmark achievement for the country, but also for the entire Southern African Development Community.

Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah’s leadership brings a unique opportunity to address long-standing gender inequalities, including the daily struggles faced by Namibian women.

The burden of childcare in Namibia falls disproportionately on women. Women are raising the next generation of Namibians under immense social and economic pressures, often without adequate support from fathers.

While motherhood is an inescapable reality for women due to biological reasons, fatherhood remains a choice for too many men. This imbalance has far-reaching consequences, not only for women, but for society as a whole.

The economic and social structures of our country reflect this neglect. Many single mothers are left to fend for their children alone, leading to financial strain and overburdened social support systems in the form of social grants, for example.

These grants, meant to provide a safety net, often end up carrying the weight of absent fathers who evade their responsibilities. The result is a system that unintentionally normalises paternal neglect, placing the survival of children squarely on the shoulders of mothers.

This scourge hits unemployed women and young mothers the hardest.

The process of seeking child maintenance through the courts is often demeaning and exhausting. Many mothers are forced to navigate bureaucratic hurdles while facing stigma, delays, and an overall lack of enforcement.

In some cultures, women are even discouraged from reporting paternal neglect to avoid conflict between families. This societal pressure leaves many women with no choice but to shoulder the financial and emotional burden of raising children alone.

Our new president has a unique opportunity to champion a cultural shift. Traditional leaders and communities at grassroots level must lead the charge in condemning paternal neglect. If culture has long dictated the roles of men and women in society, then culture must also evolve to demand accountability from fathers.

We need policies that enforce paternal responsibility and reframe childcare as a shared duty.

The state must work to dismantle policies that reinforce gendered economic disparities and implement frameworks that ensure men are equally responsible for raising Namibian children.

In this urgent call, we also honour and thank the men who have stepped up to their responsibilities. Their role in shaping strong families and communities is invaluable, and they set the example for the future of fatherhood in Namibia.

The success of our first woman president should not just be measured by breaking barriers in leadership, but also by breaking cycles of gender-based inequality that have persisted for generations.

This is the moment to redefine what it means to be a parent in Namibia.

A nation cannot thrive when half its population is left to bear the weight of its future alone.

The time for change is now.

Imelda //Hoebes