Elizabeth Hiyolwa
NKURENKURU - Hilaria Mukapuli, a member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Gender Equality, Social Development and Family Affairs, expressed her resentment at statements made by community members saying most of the time “women ask for it”, which she described as painful and disturbing.
She was speaking during a consultative engagement on legalising abortion in Nkurenkuru recently,
“Imagine, nowadays, you find a three-month-old baby being raped by an uncle, by a brother, by a father, by a niece or cousin or whatever. Does it mean that she asked for it?” she asked, adding that “rape is no more about women, rape is also happening with boys and with men.”
She further stressed “it doesn’t matter if you’re walking in the streets, sleeping at home, at a bar, in church or at school because all over, these places is where the rape cases are currently happening.”
Mukapuli pleaded for communities to become safer places where community members can feel safe.
“We are appealing to the Namibian nation to allow our women, our brothers, our men to walk freely in the streets, and our kids to play freely without being disturbed with these rape issues,” she appealed.
In the same vein, the Nkurenkuru community had an opportunity to air their views and opinions on the stance of whether or not abortion should be lagalised in Namibia.
They suggested instead of legalising abortion, government should improve education system by educating teenagers on safe sex and facilities should be built where unwanted babies can be cared for. Some however argued that, suggestions such as building facilities is a far-fetched dream as the government is already struggling to build enough schools for children and that legalising abortion will give everyone an opportunity to make a choice.
Intja Erastus Kankara contributed that the law should remain as it is, in exception of some rape cases as he indicated that some rape cases are merely misunderstandings.
Regina Wayera on the other hand argued that girls/women should be allowed to give birth, because as a grandparent, she is able to care for grandchildren.