SWAKOPMUND - Namibia has 121 regional councillors of which only 18 are women. Also, no females serve on the Omaheke, Omusati and the Zambezi regional councils, however they each have seven male councillors.
Hardap, //Kharas, Ohangwena, Kavango East, Kavango West, Kunene, Oshana regions each have one female councillor.
Khomas and the Otjozondjupa region female representation are slightly more than the rest of the regions. Four out of 10 councillors are female at Khomas and three out of seven females at Otjozondjupa region.
These statics were presented by Executive Director, in the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare Wilhencia /Uiras, during the recent three-day capacity building training, enhancing gender equality and women empowerment and regional council’s workshop held in Swakopmund.
/Uiras during the opening explained it was a capacity-building workshop, organised to create a platform for collective reflection and consensus building by political party representatives and to foster the compliance with the national constitutional, regional and international commitments in the attainment of gender equality.
“Hence we should start grooming our young minds especially women and young girls if we want to achieve gender equality as these figures speaks for themselves. Let us advocate for decision making structures to become friendlier toward woman advancement and gender equality,” she said.
Apart from that, other statistics shared during the workshop indicated that 58 women from a total of 104, members served in the National Assembly while 10 women out of 42 members serve in the National Council.
Namibia also has seven female ministers out of 26, 15-deputy ministers out of 32 as well as 10 ambassadors and high commissioners from 32 positions.
Ten women currently serve as executive directors out of 34 positions, deputy directors are 24 out of 59 position.
Namibia also have 390 deputy directors of which 187 are women, directors are 162 in total of which 68 are women.
Only 16 women serve as chief executive officers at state owned enterprises from 81 positions while, 229 women serve as board directors from a total of 540 directors.
In the judiciary, only five women serve as judges out of 24 and 46 magistrates out of 94.