THIS Sunday marks International Women’s Day, and among the various activities planned in Namibia, Sister Namibia is marking the event with a celebration of its 20th anniversary.
International Women’s Day has been observed since the early 1900s to celebrate the economic, political and social achievements of women. This year’s theme is ‘Women And Men United To End Violence Against Women And Girls’. Sister Namibia is one of those organisations that celebrate women every day, in its activities, and most prominently in its widely read magazine.Sister Namibia was founded in 1989 on the eve of Independence to ensure that women’s voices are heard ‘loud and clear in a new Namibia’, says Liz Frank, director and editor of the magazine.Sister Namibia has ensured that women’s issues remain on the agenda in various ways, including hosting a weekly show on Base FM (formerly Katutura Community Radio) to ‘provide greater access to the media to women and girls of all walks of life, including from marginalised communities,’ and a national ’50/50′ campaign in 1999 for women’s political empowerment and leadership. Through the campaign, which ran to the 2004 elections, hundreds of women were trained on the topics of women’s rights and citizenship, and gender balance, equality and justice. Sister Namibia is currently running a new campaign: ’50/50 in the bedroom – Women claiming their sexual rights’.According to Frank, ‘The campaign calls for the full recognition and protection of women’s rights to bodily integrity, autonomy and choice regarding their sexuality and reproduction, as a feminist response to the high rates of HIV transmission, sexual violence and unsafe abortion.’Sister Namibia kicked off its 20th anniversary celebrations with a photo exhibition of 20 front covers at Studio 77 last night, which will run until next Friday. The organisation will continue in its celebrations of International Women’s Day with an evening of spoken word, drama and dance at Studio 77 tomorrow night, including a performance of the highly acclaimed ‘Vagina Monologues’ by Sampa Kagwa-Wilkie and Frieda Karipi. Next week, Sister Namibia will also launch a youth magazine called Real! to develop the voices of young Namibian women. The youth magazine will be produced by the organisation’s Girls Empowerment Project. nangula@namibian.com.na
