President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah on Monday told world leaders that Namibia has closed 81% of its gender gap, ranking eighth globally and first in Africa.
She was speaking at the United Nations General Assembly during the high-level meeting marking the 30th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women.
Nandi-Ndaitwah said the country’s progress is rooted in strong political will, and international commitments such as the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.
She said: “30 years ago in Beijing, we affirmed that women’s rights were indeed human rights. Since then, Namibia has always built on the strong foundation of this declaration.”
The president described it as a historic milestone in Namibia’s leadership, with women now holding the Presidency, the vice presidency, the speakership of the National Assembly, and secretary general position of Swapo.
She added that women hold 57% of Cabinet positions and 38.5% of the seats in parliament, including portfolios such as finance, health, education, and international relations and trade.
However, Nandi-Ndaitwah stressed that challenges remain, particularly in women’s economic inclusion.
“Economic challenges persist, limiting access to credit, land, and markets, with 70% of informal traders being female, in particular young women,” she said.
She said that Namibia’s National Gender Equality and Equity Policy 2025 to 2035 seeks to address these barriers by promoting equal access to resources, capacity building, and supporting women-owned enterprises.
Initiatives such as Agricultural Bank of Namibia programmes are also geared towards helping women and young people venture into agriculture.
“Agriculture being an informal economic activity, is supported within its operations by the Agribank of Namibia to assist young people and women who want to venture into agriculture,” she said.
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