Outapi
The Regional Commander of the Oshikoto Police, Commissioner Anne-Marie Nainda, has called on female police officers to celebrate each other’s achievements and ranks, without linking such achievements to sexual favours.
Nainda, who is the chairperson of the Namibian Police Women’s Network, implored female officers to assist and build each other up, instead of regarding other women as threats in the contest for positions.
“We should respect, assist and build each other up and not draw unnecessary comparisons where it is not needed. There is always something that we do not know that we can learn from the next person,” Nainda advised.
Nainda was addressing female police officers at Outapi on Monday at a meeting aimed to create awareness about the Namibian Police Women’s Network.
The network was established in 2009 to advocate for women’s empowerment and equal treatment in the workplace. Similarly, the women’s network sought to address the maltreatment of women and children, violence against women, and also to enable women to contribute towards national building.
At present, the network advocates for an equal employment rate in the police force, for a higher number of women to be sent on United Nations peacekeeping missions, and for a higher number of women to be enrolled at police training institutions countrywide.
Nainda said fair representation in the police workforce would expose women to different areas of work and enable them to acquire much-needed skills.
“We’re not there to fight our male colleagues. However, we do not want to be wheel-chaired into positions. We want our women to be trained and exposed [to different work environments] so that when you are given a rank, you are confident and you can perform,” Nainda said.
The chairperson of the women’s network was, however, impressed with the progress Omusati Region has made in ensuring that there is a fair number of women in leadership positions.
Nainda said although the country is not moving at the desired pace, there is progress in terms of gender equality. In Omusati 554 of the 1 242 officers in the police force are women; 688 are men. However, only three women – compared to nine men – are in commanding positions.
At the meeting, female police officers were also encouraged to acquire driver’s licences and to drive police vehicles to ease their work. Similarly, the women in the force were also implored to study.
At present only 48 female officers in the region have driver’s licences and 33 are studying, while close to 40 have attended various training courses at training institutions countrywide.