Sad year for women

KOES – The year 2005 will go down as one in which many gruesome and heinous acts were widely committed against mainly women in Namibia.

The Governor of Karas, Dawid Boois, made this remark at the combined International Human Rights Day and Namibian Women’s Day commemoration here on Saturday. “At the beginning of the year, in Windhoek and Swkopmund, young girls were raped and brutally killed, and the brutal murder and decapitating of Ms Juanita Mabula, to mention just a few, …were cases which sent shockwaves through the nation,” Boois said.He noted that hardly a day goes by without news emerging that a woman or a child has been beaten, raped or killed.”Sadly, the very people who are supposed to protect them are the ones who commit these crimes.Violence, and in particular against women and children, has reached crisis proportions and urgent measures are needed to keep this situation under control,” the governor added.He said that campaigns to prevent violence against women are hampered by pervasive attitudes that devalue the lives of women and view them as inferior to men.Boois added that unless these issues are tackled at the root, all efforts to emancipate women will fail.”We need to fight tooth and nail, and we need to intensify our efforts aimed at educating communities on gender equality as well as introducing economic empowerment programmes,” he said.The Governor stressed that economic independence is an essential ingredient in empowering women, as dependence on male counterparts exposes women to abuse.He said that it is the collective responsibility of all members of society to ensure that women are liberated.Boois stressed that women were in the forefront during the liberation struggle and deserve to profit equally from the fruits of independence.He said that the heroic deeds of women on December 10 1959 in the Old Location in Windhoek, when community members openly resisted the South African colonial occupational regime, is proof enough of their contribution to the struggle for independence.Koes is a small village situated some 130 west of Keetmanshoop.- Nampa”At the beginning of the year, in Windhoek and Swkopmund, young girls were raped and brutally killed, and the brutal murder and decapitating of Ms Juanita Mabula, to mention just a few, …were cases which sent shockwaves through the nation,” Boois said.He noted that hardly a day goes by without news emerging that a woman or a child has been beaten, raped or killed.”Sadly, the very people who are supposed to protect them are the ones who commit these crimes.Violence, and in particular against women and children, has reached crisis proportions and urgent measures are needed to keep this situation under control,” the governor added.He said that campaigns to prevent violence against women are hampered by pervasive attitudes that devalue the lives of women and view them as inferior to men.Boois added that unless these issues are tackled at the root, all efforts to emancipate women will fail.”We need to fight tooth and nail, and we need to intensify our efforts aimed at educating communities on gender equality as well as introducing economic empowerment programmes,” he said.The Governor stressed that economic independence is an essential ingredient in empowering women, as dependence on male counterparts exposes women to abuse.He said that it is the collective responsibility of all members of society to ensure that women are liberated.Boois stressed that women were in the forefront during the liberation struggle and deserve to profit equally from the fruits of independence.He said that the heroic deeds of women on December 10 1959 in the Old Location in Windhoek, when community members openly resisted the South African colonial occupational regime, is proof enough of their contribution to the struggle for independence.Koes is a small village situated some 130 west of Keetmanshoop.- Nampa