Ithana looks to the east

SWAPO secretary general Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana, who is vying for the position of party vice president, says the time has come for women to take the lead in politics and prove that they are able to rise to the task.

The Swapo SG this week took her campaign to the Omaheke Region, where she met with a group of delegates going to Swapo’s fifth congress from Omaheke. The congress starts in Windhoek today.Iivula-Ithana said despite being viewed by many as second-class citizens to men, many women had risen above expectations and proven such notions wrong.She said women had been instrumental in the fight for national liberation, and in some cases waged tougher battles than their male counterparts against the colonial regime at the time.Iivula-Ithana, often referred to as the ‘Iron Lady’ of Swapo due to her no-nonsense approach to administrative and other party matters, told the delegates that she had all the qualities to serve the party as vice president.’We fought alongside our male comrades during the difficult days in the struggle to liberate Namibia from colonial occupation. Not even once were we treated softly by the enemy on grounds of being a woman. Why should we now take a backseat and be relegated to less important functions?’ she asked.She said having served the party as SG since 2007; the VP position would be her next obvious step of progression in the Swapo leadership hierarchy. Iivula-Ithana said the VP position would be yet another milestone in the history of the Swapo and the entire country, as no woman has yet progressed to such level.’There is no reason why I cannot lead the Swapo as vice president and eventually go on to become Namibia’s first female president. What we are witnessing now, dear comrades, is history in the making and you are the lucky ones to be part of it,’ she told the crowd.Iivula-Ithana is one of the most prominent female politicians, having spearheaded the Swapo Party Women’s Council in exile and having been appointed Namibia’s first female attorney general in 2002.She left Namibia in 1974 and became one of the first female fighters in the People’s Liberation Army of Namibia (Plan). Among those attending the meeting in Gobabis were the Omaheke Swapo regional co-ordinator, Kejamuina Mungendje, Swapo Party Women’s Council member Eunice Iipinge and Omaheke Governor Laura McLeod-Katjirua. – Nampa