RUNDU – Rundu held belated celebrations on Saturday to mark 24 years of Namibia’s independence a week following the main event in Windhoek.
The late celebrations were organised by the Rundu Town Council in conjunction with the Rundu Urban constituency office. The main speaker at the event was the Minister of Gender Equality and Child Welfare, Rosalia Nghidinwa. She said the occasion marked the commemoration of a very special day in the history of Namibia and coincides with a month in which International Women’s Day is observed and bears significant importance not only for Namibia, but also for women and girls across the world. “As we celebrate our independence, we remember and respect our leaders who led the struggle and carried the torch that lit our way to freedom and self-determination and at the same time, we pay homage to our fallen heroes and heroines who made the ultimate sacrifice that resulted in the freedom, peace, and democracy that we are enjoying today, of course with their fathers, husbands, girls and boys.” She further told the crowd that political freedom and independence will always remain meaningful if peace, harmony, unity and equality amongst all Namibians prevails and she highlighted that Namibian women also participated in the liberation struggle.
Women participated in the liberation struggle in different capacities and like thousands of men, some women were also killed, widowed, imprisoned and some became refugees or were subjected to physical torture, as well as harassment, she said. According to Nghidinwa in order to rid women of what she described as the ‘dependency syndrome’ which contributes to gender-based violence, women need to be empowered to seize opportunities in the mainstream of the country’s economic activities.
“Women of this region and those from other regions should find a forum to come together and exchange views and opinions towards women’s empowerment, such as to form companies and cooperatives so as to contribute to the economic growth of the motherland, Nghidinwa said.
“The theme of this year’s independence anniversary celebration in the Kavango East and Kavango West regions was – “Intensifying the fight against Gender Based Violence.”
Mayor of Rundu Hilka Leevi who also attended the event briefed residents about the progress of developmental plans at the town. The independence celebration was held at the Rundu Sports Stadium where local artists such as Pinket Kauna and various other artists, as well as the Unam Rundu campus choir entertained the crowd. Festivities in the Kavango West region took place at Nkurenkuru. Celebrations were also held at the Ndonga constituency office, which were joined by residents of the Ndiyona and Mukwe constituencies.
By John Muyamba