Swapo supports child bill

THE ruling party has thrown its weight behind the revised version of the Children’s Status Bill to be tabled in Parliament, which aims to give equal rights to children born in and out of wedlock.

Speaking during parliamentary debate on bill, Former Minister of Women Affairs and Child Welfare, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, who brought the first version of the bill to the House last year, said she is pleased that it had finally been agreed that parents would have equal rights to their children, even when born out of wedlock. This provision, she said, would become a challenge for adults and make for more responsible parenting.”It’s very inhuman for a child to suffer if he or she is not the one who decided to be born outside of marriage,” she said.”That child should be treated and benefit equally from their parents.”The previous version of the bill, which Nandi-Ndaitwah brought to Parliament, proposed joint custody of children born outside wedlock, which would have meant an unworkable situation of parents having to consult each other on all matters related to the child.Prime Minister Nahas Angula has also supported the revised bill.He says it is “a crime against humanity” that children born out of marriage are discriminated against.”The concept of being born out wedlock is an imposition, just like colonialism was an imposition,” Angula said.”It’s immaterial whether children are born in or out of wedlock.”A child belongs to both a mother and a father.”What kind of relationship you had is immaterial.A human being cannot be illegitimate,” he said.Angula said the law was a liberating one, and has urged the House to pass it as soon as possible.When Nandi-Ndaitwah tabled the first version of the bill in the House last year, it was referred to a standing committee to gauge public opinion on matters related to the custody and guardianship of children born out of marriage.Nandi-Ndaitwah expressed reservations about the report and the recommendations it made, and the bill lapsed at the end of the last session of Parliament without the issue being resolved.This provision, she said, would become a challenge for adults and make for more responsible parenting.”It’s very inhuman for a child to suffer if he or she is not the one who decided to be born outside of marriage,” she said.”That child should be treated and benefit equally from their parents.”The previous version of the bill, which Nandi-Ndaitwah brought to Parliament, proposed joint custody of children born outside wedlock, which would have meant an unworkable situation of parents having to consult each other on all matters related to the child.Prime Minister Nahas Angula has also supported the revised bill.He says it is “a crime against humanity” that children born out of marriage are discriminated against.”The concept of being born out wedlock is an imposition, just like colonialism was an imposition,” Angula said.”It’s immaterial whether children are born in or out of wedlock.”A child belongs to both a mother and a father.”What kind of relationship you had is immaterial.A human being cannot be illegitimate,” he said.Angula said the law was a liberating one, and has urged the House to pass it as soon as possible.When Nandi-Ndaitwah tabled the first version of the bill in the House last year, it was referred to a standing committee to gauge public opinion on matters related to the custody and guardianship of children born out of marriage.Nandi-Ndaitwah expressed reservations about the report and the recommendations it made, and the bill lapsed at the end of the last session of Parliament without the issue being resolved.