MARIENTAL – Women‘s Action for Development (WAD) Executive Director Veronica de Klerk has appealed to government to enforce by legislation the 50/50 gender representation the ruling party adopted recently and says parties that fail to embrace gender parity should be disqualified from elections.
According to her, the government should amend the electoral laws to compel all political parties to adhere to 50/50 representation as an obligatory requirement on all party lists, in order to speed up the attainment of this target. De Klerk said the subject of a 50/50 representation of gender at party level has been debated for many years, but this is the first time a firm resolution in this regard has been taken by a political party. “WAD has no doubt that the decision will eventually introduce a renewed interest among women to get involved in political party activities and eventually decision-making positions,” she said. De Klerk said women have a valuable contribution to make and they should no longer be denied that right as fellow Namibians and voters.
“It is simply no longer acceptable that an equal number of women are denied [access to] the highest decision-making chambers of the country,” she further said. “It is therefore imperative that the 50/50 representation of gender at party level be enshrined in legislation, never ever to be changed again,” she told a recent WAD graduation event at Mariental.
“The gains which women have made over the years in terms of having a right to vote, having the right to possess property in their name, etc., have been hard fought for over many years and no loopholes should be left for it to be undone again,” said De Klerk, whose organisation empowers thousands of Namibian women in practical terms every year.
“Now is the time for women to stand together to support one another, to vote for one another, to respect one another and not to make themselves guilty of jealousy, gossiping and pulling one another down, because the longer women make themselves guilty of these unacceptable actions, the longer men will continue to rule on their own,” she cautioned. “WAD therefore appeals to all capable and talented women to step forward now, to start undergoing training to prepare themselves to run for public office and to prepare themselves for leadership roles.”
De Klerk wants women to register for leadership courses with WAD to prepare themselves to run for public office during the 2014 elections. “This is a golden opportunity for women to prove how capable they are. We should therefore be serious and we should be prepared. Women should realise they will now be the ones who will be judged and compared to men. It is therefore crucial that their contributions in leadership roles be well considered, meaningful and worthwhile to gain the respect of the nation, because we do not want to be embarrassed by women who cannot perform,” she said.
De Klerk was speaking during the WAD Hardap Field Day in Mariental where 130 students received training from WAD trainers in computer literacy, office administration, hospitality and tailoring. Forty people including police officers at the town received training on gender-related laws and aspects of the constitution. The graduation field day was also attended by Paulus Noah the Director of the Anti-Corruption Commission, Katrina Hanse-Himarwa the Governor of the Hardap Region, Alex Kamburute Mayor of Mariental and Barakius Namwandi the Councillor of Mariental Urban.