On A Matter Of Rights

THE NAMIBIAN, since its founding nearly 25 years ago, has prided itself on its outspoken commitment to human rights. Its record is a proud one, and includes campaigning against violence against women and children and oppression of minorities.

But in our 25-year history, there have been occasions where some have taken issue with, among others, ways in which we have depicted women.
We recall a beautiful front-page photograph of a woman from the North pounding mahangu. A gender-based group took strong exception, claiming it demeaned Namibian women, implying that this noble agricultural role portrayed them in an inferior light.
We disagreed and argued the contrary. While this is a way of life for many Namibian women, publication of the photograph did not automatically lead readers to deduce that Namibian women couldn’t be professionals as well. This is but one example, and there have been others.
On July 2, The Namibian published an advertisement by Metcalfe Attorneys which unleashed a storm of protest.
For those who did not see it, the advert depicted a scantily dressed woman with a stamp on her behind with the words ‘still kicking it’, accompanied by wording which referred to the change of name and location of the law firm, and implying the firm was ‘still kicking butt’, as it had done for its clients since 1995.
There was an immediate outcry from some groups and individuals. They claimed the advert promoted violence against women. We responded by agreeing that it was risqué and not necessarily in the best of taste, but this did not warrant a ‘ban’.
While gender and advertising, particularly vis-à-vis the depiction of women, is a lively and controversial debate the world over, to say that this advertisement’s imagery and objectification of a woman would cause violence, is questionable.
While researchers are hard-pressed to prove a link between media advertising and violence against women, we nevertheless remain sensitive about such content.
We have also received a letter of protest from the United Nations in Namibia about the advert, which is reproduced on our letters pages today. It calls on us to account with regard to our ethical guidelines, and reminds us that ‘UN agencies need to make decisions about which commercial entities they associate with in order to maintain the UN’s own standards and obligations on matters of gender and racial equality’.
Apart from its unshakeable record on human rights, The Namibian is also a newspaper which actively encourages vigorous debate on the pages of this newspaper, and does not shirk from giving voice to its critics. We believe that ‘everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers’, as is spelled out in Article 19 of the Declaration of Human Rights.
The Namibian is not a sensationalist newspaper and, as journalists of conscience, we consistently interrogate and weigh up what we do in the context of our commitment to our code of ethics.
If and when we are seen to contravene this code, we debate the merits and demerits in the public interest. Sometimes a graphic image, which could be termed in ‘bad taste’, is called for to bring attention to the heinous crimes we fight in our society, be it violence against women, the abuse of children or cruelty to animals.
The newspaper regularly carries the views of those with whom we do not agree, be it from newsmakers or column or letter writers or advertisers. We do not censor unless something is blatantly defamatory or racially inciteful, among others.
It is not our role to defend the advert from Metcalfe Attorneys but we nevertheless do not see it as promoting violence against women. The woman depicted is clearly proud of her body, not submissive, silenced or victimised.
Nudity or semi-nudity is not necessarily always violent or degrading in its depiction.
We are cognisant of the campaigns against gendered advertising, including UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon’s UNiTE to End Violence Against Women, which seeks to raise public awareness and generate political will, but people can also go too far in finding scapegoats for huge societal problems.
We are also aware of the power of imagery, and the impact it can have on attitudes, values, beliefs and behaviour, but we do not see violent crime in Namibia as a replica of what is depicted in the media.
We see alcohol abuse as the number one cause, and we have championed the fight against alcohol abuse on this editorial platform for years with little support from civil society.
What the controversial advert did manage to do, where our reportage about horrific women and child abuse over the years has apparently failed, is to generate public debate about the outrage of violence against women.
Those voices raised in protest against the advertisement we would like to hear more often when real crimes of rape and abuse are perpetrated against the most vulnerable of our society, or be found hypocritical in their silence.
While Metcalfe Attorneys have pulled their campaign, especially after intervention from the Law Society, we hope it will not mean those voices of outrage die down, but are instead channelled into fighting the scourge of alcohol which so often underpins violence against our women and children.
Let’s focus on the real crimes of violence in our society and not get sidetracked. We can’t and won’t change things that way.