WINDHOEK – President Hifikepunye Pohamba and the Cabinet have called on all Namibians to join them in a National Day of Prayer against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) today.
The appeal is directed to all political leaders, students, civil servants, workers, youths, peasants, traditional leaders, religious leaders, business leaders, civic organizations, as well as community leaders and every Namibian citizen.
The main event is to be held in Windhoek at the Sam Nujoma Stadium in Katutura and the gates will open for the general public at 10h00.
Everyone across the country is expected to observe a moment of silence, those attending prayer sessions are requested to wear black and church bells in the country should ring concurrently at 13h00 with the observance of a minute of silence in memory of all women and girls who fell victim to gender-based violence.
The President is expected to deliver the keynote address at around 14h00, while governors will also deliver his speech in all 13 regions.
At the main event in WIndhoek, other speakers include a varied swathe of leaders representing some of the major religions of the world such as Reverend Maria Kapere, Secretary General of the Council of Churches in Namibia (CCN), Sheikh Abdullah Haroon, Sandra Tjitendero of the Baha’I faith, Rabbi Zvi Gorelick, Pastor Zelda van der Colf and Pastor Johnny Kitching. The regional programmes are to be obtained from the respective chief regional officers.
Employers are requested to release employees to attend the national prayer session.
All employers and their employees are required to host prayer sessions at their respective work places.
Since it is a working day, it is mandatory for all staff members to attend the prayer sessions, except those performing essential services.
The Inspector General of the Namibian Police, the President of the Shebeen Association and the Chief Executive Officer of the Namibian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI) have also been directed to make sure that all liquor outlets are closed and no alcohol is sold today.
In the meantime, the National Council Women Caucus held a second prayer meeting yesterday in the National Council chambers in light of the latest brutal murder of a 22-year-old woman, Tiffany Lewin, who was killed by her boyfriend on Monday. The meeting chaired by Vice-Chairperson of the National Council, Margaret Mensah-Williams elected a committee to pave the way ahead on GBV and also discussed pertinent issues related to the latest wave of senseless murders that have sent shockwaves across the country.
The latest statistics on victims of gender-based violence for the first three months of this year bring the number to 16. Last year, 25 murder cases were reported. Yesterday New Era approached several prominent personalities in the country to hear their views on gender-based violence and the national prayer day slated for today.
“Bishop Henry Ndozi-Okia said there is a need to understand what the terms gender and passion mean and for every Namibian to look where “to direct our prayers if we are to triumph over the scourge of gender-based violence”.
Hilda Basson-Namundjembo, a well-known media personality and businesswoman, said that “we have prayed so much that it is now time to act with authority and decisiveness, as well as to take ownership of problems in our country”.
“Men, clean up your act,” she said, urging men to assume priestly responsibility in their homes and to stop sleeping around. Jacky van Wyk, a GBV activist said some of the contributing factors leading to GBV are academic, mental poverty and the dependency syndrome, where women stay in an abusive relationship because of children.
“We need to assist men to change,” said Mensah-Willams, adding we also need to create safe places for abused women who can be trained in order to find jobs to sustain themselves.
“She also took a swipe at faith-based institutions, saying they should be leading the prayer initiative, but are more interested in competing against each other.
By Magreth Nunuhe