By Hilma Himotha
WINDHOEK– Circumstances force many of us to ignore moral standards, values and live below our normal standards. It has become rather a depressing way of life where women bow to anything placed in front of them by men, and forced into submissions by different life circumstances surrounding them. But regardless of the circumstances, the question still remain, are you happy with yourself?
Ester Kuugongelwa , 23- year-old confident young woman believes that a woman should be respectable, dignified and true to herself at all times. “I believe that as a young woman, one should possess confidence in the sense that you are proud of who you are, and believe that you can achieve whatever you set your mind on achieving.” Kuugongelwa says she would not disregard her moral values and one should never lose her dignity over a man. On cohabitation, which has become rather a fashionable way of living in today’s world, she says “one should remember that we have been raised in a society where cultural norms and values have been bred into us and I believe such should be respected at all times. One cannot simply disregard them and decide to do something just because it is fashionable at the moment.”
“I value honesty and a high level of integrity, and I think those are the values that a woman should possess to enable her in deciding between what is right and wrong for her to do.” Although she claims not to have a man in her life at the moment, Kuugongelwa says she would expect her man to be a hardworking and very much grounded man, who not only believes in his own dreams but in hers as well, and thus be supportive and encourage her to be a better version of the woman she is today.
“I want to grow to be an independent successful woman in all that I do, be it big or small. Not only that, but also wish to leave an impact on the lives of the people around me and I believe I am on the right track.”