Namibia
Women are most affected by poverty

afrol.com, 25 September - Women continue to be affected more by conditions of poverty than men because poverty among the former is linked to inequality in society in terms of unemployment, unfair treatment under social welfare and their cultural and home environments. 

Director General of the National Planning Commission, Honourable Saara Kuugongelwa, was speaking at the release of the State of the World Population Report 2000 she jointly presented with United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) country representative, Kemal Mustafa, on 20 September in the Namibian capital, Windhoek. 

Kuugongelwa noted that the theme for this year is “Lives Together, World Apart – Men and Women in a Time of Change.” “It is true that in this day and age, we cannot afford to discriminate between women and men,” she said, adding: “We can no longer tolerate the inequality between women and men because it inhibits the potential of individuals, families and nations.” 

She said one of the principles of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) underscores “advancing gender equality and equity, the empowerment of women, elimination of all kinds of violence against women and ensuring women’s ability to control their own fertility as cornerstones of population and development related programmes”.

The Honourable Kuugongelwa said women make up over half of Namibia’s population but, in spite of their numerical strength, their contributions in the home, workplace and in society are ignored or undervalued. “Too many women are poor, are unskilled workers and thus have little opportunity for advancement. Too many women are victims of abuse and violence and too few women are in decision-making positions,” she said. 

She said in an attempt to redress the imbalances of the past between women
and men in Namibia, the Government created the Department of Women Affairs in the Office of the President shortly after independence, which has now been turned into a Ministry of Women Affairs and Child Welfare. She added that in the First National Development Plan (NDP1) covering the period 1995/96 to 1999/2000, in both the medium and long-term, the government would make optimal use of the country’s resources to achieve the goal of socio-economic development, amongst others, to ensure the full integration of women in the development process at all levels.

The Honourable Kuugongelwa said the education of girls, and the training women in general, should be given overriding consideration in the development planning of Namibia. “We in Government are greatly appreciative of the efforts of the UNFPA to monitor the world population developments and to highlight areas that require our attention as countries so that we can realise our cherished goal of full and complete development of all mankind,” she said. 

She called upon Namibians to familiarise themselves with the contents of the report and to be part of the solution to the current gender inequalities that serve as a stumbling block in their way to full social and economic development. “We must realise that the realisation of gender equity does not depend on legislative reforms or public programmes alone,” she said, adding that reforms only serve to create the environment where we as individuals and communities will act to change the status quo through attitude change and self-empowerment.” (NAMPA) 
 

Source:  Namibian Government

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