Namibia Women Liberation StruggleRather than looking just at the question of the role of the Namibia women liberation struggle, it is crucial to first examine the question of women’s oppression and liberation. Such topics are at the heart of some of the problems that are raised on a number of platforms both within the national movements and within the international feminism movements. Did winning national liberation resolve the question of women’s oppression?
Over 60% of economically active African women in Namibia were confined to being employed in domestic or agricultural sectors, where there are no minimum wages or any industrial safeguards for workers. The women in the Bantustans have little land and few economic opportunities. For them, there is the question of sheer survival. Quite clearly, it is the apartheid system which mostly oppressed women and its removal was the priority during the Namibia liberation struggle and the Namibia women liberation struggle. The negative connotations in the national liberation struggle were: involve yourselves in the liberation struggles, but look at revolutions were women where betrayed.
To repeat Frene Ginwala’s words (a member of African National Congress of South Africa, ANC) during the Conference titled: ‘Namibia 1884-1984’ held in London from 10 – 13 September 1984:
“We are aware of attitudes within our national movements, of individuals who do not understand or accept the reality of women’s oppression and the need for our complete liberation. But we are also aware that, today, our main oppressor is the apartheid system and not our men. We want liberation of all our people, men and women, black and white. To say this of course is not to suggest that victory over apartheid is seen as automatically removing the entire oppression of women, nor that after national liberation women will begin a new struggle for their own liberation, but rather it is to say that, for us, the two are intertwined. In the course of our struggle, any such struggle, the question is asked and must be constantly answered: freedom from apartheid, but into what kind of society? The programmes of our national liberation movements provide a formal commitment to equality of status, but our goals are concretely defined and are explicitly made in the process of struggle. And it is in that process too that attitudes are fashioned and the foundations are laid for the realisation of such goals. To the extent, that women participate in the national liberation struggle, we will be able to fashion the attitudes of men and women and help create egalitarian structures and a non-exploitative system of an independent Namibia and a free South Africa.” At independence of Namibia in 1990, only a small fraction of women made it onto the parliament and Cabinet. 19 years into the independent Namibia, more and more women continue to take up positions of power both in the corporate and political arenas. Although most women head softer public offices or ministries (where the roles are usually of nurturing, caring and mothering nature) as stereotyped by society. With the exemption of Minister of finance, Honourable Sara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila; Minister of Justice, Honourable Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana, Deputy Prime minister, Dr. Libertine Amadhila among a few. More still need to be done to recognise the intellectual, articulation and leadership capabilities of women, and the equal representation of women and men in all spheres of the Namibian society.
|
||||||
