Loide Jason
WINDHOEK – Women’s Action for Development (WAD) and LifeLine/ChildLine were among the institutions awarded the prestigious African Gender Award for 2017, by the Gender Is My Agenda Campaign (GIMAC) Network recently.
The award was for their commitment to achieving equity and gender equality in Namibia.
WAD and LifeLine were jointly awarded representing the Civic Society of Namibia.
The award was handed over at the Windhoek Country Club, during the state Banquet to hand over the awards.
At the same award, the Namibian Head of State was rewarded for his continued efforts to establish a legal and policy framework, for the promotion and protection of women’s rights in Namibia, which continues to progress through the effective implementation of regional instruments such as the Maputo Protocol and the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa (SDGEA), that guarantees equality between women and men.
“It is a manifestation of our efforts and commitments towards gender equality in the country, thus this award should remind us always that for as long as gender inequality and gender discrimination prevail in our society, we have an unfinished business in Namibia,” said Salatiel Shinedima, the Executive Director for WAD.
He said it is therefore important for civil society organisations to continue complementing government in its efforts to achieve its national development goals, with regards to human rights, gender equality and combating gender-based violence.
According to Shinedima, since 1994, WAD has been spearheading the women empowerment agenda, gender equality as well as promoting human rights through socio political and socio economic programs. “More than 50 000 mostly women and youth, benefited from WAD’s programs that include training and assistance to establish sustainable income generating projects,” enlightened Shinedima.
He further said that WAD has been supported in its work by many international and local donors such as their long term partner Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), European Union, Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), the American Embassy, Old Mutual Group of Companies, which Includes Old Mutual Namibia and Nedbank Namibia, Coca Cola Namibia Bottling Company (CCNBC), and many other local donors.
“In addition to the African Gender Award, WAD has been receiving recognition through the Public Management Review (PMR) awards since 2012 to date, which demonstrates the impact of WAD’s contribution towards the promotion of gender equality and women empowerment in the country,” he said.