As Namibia joined the rest of the world to commemorate International Women’s Day, President Hage Geingob took the lead and lauded Namibian women for undertaking a courageous journey towards gender equality, urging more urgency and action.
Reflecting on the theme for International Women’s Day 2020, marked on Sunday across the globe, ‘Realising Women’s Rights’, Geingob was emphatic, saying realising women’s rights reminds the Namibian nation “with urgency about our collective responsibility to ensure the participation of women in all layers of governance and economic activity as a symbol of freedom and equality in society”.
Geingob, a champion of gender equality and the recipient of the 2018 African Excellence Award for the African Gender Award from the Gender is My Agenda Campaign (GIMAC), commits to further actions for gender equality through targeted actions and sound legal and policy frameworks.
Geingob is one of six Heads of State to have received the award since inception in 2005.
Quoting Geingob, Presidential Press Secretary Alfred Hengari on Sunday said: “Since independence, Namibia has made commendable progress in advancing gender equality. However, International Women’s Day is a reminder that more should be done at a legal and policy level to ensure equal participation of women in all activities of human endeavour. Namibia commits to accelerate gender equality and arrest the scourge of gender-based violence through appropriate policies and interventions. It is the right thing to do for inclusive economic development and a safer society for all to become a reality,” he stated.