Namibian women urged to become innovators

NAMIBIAN women should turn away from the old-fashioned idea that they are confined to the kitchen and start nurturing the idea of becoming innovators.

This was said by Veronica de Klerk, Director of Women Action for Development (WAD), at an International Women’s Day event in the capital yesterday. De Klerk applauded the presence of young girls in the audience, saying that it would be their responsibility to maintain the momentum of female achievers breaking new ground.They would also continue to work on a shift of mindset with regard to the perception of women’s abilities.She said the unfortunate reality was that ever since children had started to form their own opinions, they had been brainwashed into believing that boys belonged to the stronger sex and girls to the weaker sex.De Klerk said while this might be true regarding physical strength, the concept was totally misconstrued while it was inculcated in the minds of girls.”Boys believed it since childhood, while girls are expected to believe it unchallenged.And that is the reason why women choose to blend in, rather than to stand out,” she said.She also deplored the sad reality of millions of women who did not even have the most basic right to a decent life.”During my work, I always found it so sad to see that most rural women do not even realise that they are in bondage – not having a voice, not having a chance nor even an opinion,” she said.A great responsibility rested on the shoulders of those women who lived in better conditions not to live in denial of the plight of those who were suffering.”Because if we do not persevere and advocate the improvement of the living conditions of sisters in bondage, their situation will never improve,” she added.In a message from UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, read by UN Resident Co-ordinator Jacqui Badcock, he said a terrifying pattern of women being increasingly affected by HIV-AIDS had emerged.Annan said that in Sub-Saharan Africa today, more than half of all adults living with HIV-AIDS were women.”Infection rates in young African women are far higher than in young men,” he said.The reason why many women were affected – although they were not the ones with the highest number of sexual partners outside marriage – was caused by inequalities in societies: poverty, abuse and violence, lack of information, coercion by older men and men having several sexual partners.This year’s International Women’s Day was celebrated under the theme of ‘Gender and HIV-AIDS’.The commemoration was organised by WAD and the United Nations Population Fund.De Klerk applauded the presence of young girls in the audience, saying that it would be their responsibility to maintain the momentum of female achievers breaking new ground.They would also continue to work on a shift of mindset with regard to the perception of women’s abilities.She said the unfortunate reality was that ever since children had started to form their own opinions, they had been brainwashed into believing that boys belonged to the stronger sex and girls to the weaker sex.De Klerk said while this might be true regarding physical strength, the concept was totally misconstrued while it was inculcated in the minds of girls.”Boys believed it since childhood, while girls are expected to believe it unchallenged.And that is the reason why women choose to blend in, rather than to stand out,” she said.She also deplored the sad reality of millions of women who did not even have the most basic right to a decent life.”During my work, I always found it so sad to see that most rural women do not even realise that they are in bondage – not having a voice, not having a chance nor even an opinion,” she said.A great responsibility rested on the shoulders of those women who lived in better conditions not to live in denial of the plight of those who were suffering.”Because if we do not persevere and advocate the improvement of the living conditions of sisters in bondage, their situation will never improve,” she added.In a message from UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, read by UN Resident Co-ordinator Jacqui Badcock, he said a terrifying pattern of women being increasingly affected by HIV-AIDS had emerged.Annan said that in Sub-Saharan Africa today, more than half of all adults living with HIV-AIDS were women.”Infection rates in young African women are far higher than in young men,” he said.The reason why many women were affected – although they were not the ones with the highest number of sexual partners outside marriage – was caused by inequalities in societies: poverty, abuse and violence, lack of information, coercion by older men and men having several sexual partners.This year’s International Women’s Day was celebrated under the theme of ‘Gender and HIV-AIDS’.The commemoration was organised by WAD and the United Nations Population Fund.