Women in Swapo end up the biggest losers

WOMEN in Swapo were the biggest losers at the just-ended congress despite promises that they would have better representation at all top levels of the party.

Although women made up close to 50 per cent of the delegates at the congress, only three – Secretary General Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana, Saara Kuugongelwa-Amathila and Dr Libertina Amathila – made it into the Politburo. In fact, the party has gone backwards – in 2002 four of the 21 Politburo members were women.When Deputy Speaker Doreen Sioka joined in June this year, the Politburo actually had five female members.Of the Central Committee’s 83 members, only 18 female delegates made it to the final list.The last Central committee had 19 women (23 per cent).The Southern African Development Community declaration on gender and development commits member countries to achieving 50 per cent women’s representation in political and decision-making structures.Namibia is a signatory to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (Cedaw), the Beijing Platform for Action and the SADC Declaration on Gender and Development.The country also has its own National Gender Policy through which it promised to increase female participation at all levels of politics and decision-making.Gender balance activists claim Swapo is merely paying lip service on the gender front.The party’s Women Council promised last year to push for 50 per cent representation in the top decision-making bodies and in the National Assembly.They decided to lobby for changing the ruling party’s constitution to require half of the party’s Politburo, Central Committee and MPs in the next National Assembly to be women.Yesterday, newly elected Secretary General Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana said she was disappointed by the developments.”The party is seized with the issue.It needs everybody’s involvement.Democracy has its own way of sorting things out,” she said.Swapo does not have a policy on gender equality.Ithana said the new leadership would work on formulating clear directives.In 2002 former Swapo President Sam Nujoma was forced to drop plans to nominate 21 women to the Swapo Central Committee.He was given legal advice that it was illegal but the resistance also took the form of claims of dictatorial behaviour being levelled at him.A resolution was passed at the 1997 congress already to increase the proportion of women delegates to the party’s congress up to 50 per cent.If Nujoma had had his way in nominating the 21 women, it would have left only 36 positions available in the election for the Central Committee.Many party stalwarts, most of them Ministers, feared they would have lost out to people who would have been “brought in by wheelchair”, in terms of an expression widely used by Swapo members.Having failed to get 50 per cent female representation, Nujoma, responding to lobbying by some in the Women’s Council leadership, decided to push for a quota on the Central Committee but once again failed.A decision was taken at the 2002 congress that in future the congress should “consider reserving the first 21 seats” on the Central Committee for “women comrades”.Yet again, that was not achieved at the last congress and the party’s gender balance has gone from bad to worse.In Government, 27 per cent of Ministers and 25 per cent of Deputy Ministers are women.Women Parliamentarians make up 27 per cent while 23 per cent of Permanent Secretaries and 24 per cent of Deputy Permanent Secretaries are women.Women make up around 32 per cent of the directors and heads of departments in the civil service.In fact, the party has gone backwards – in 2002 four of the 21 Politburo members were women.When Deputy Speaker Doreen Sioka joined in June this year, the Politburo actually had five female members.Of the Central Committee’s 83 members, only 18 female delegates made it to the final list.The last Central committee had 19 women (23 per cent).The Southern African Development Community declaration on gender and development commits member countries to achieving 50 per cent women’s representation in political and decision-making structures.Namibia is a signatory to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (Cedaw), the Beijing Platform for Action and the SADC Declaration on Gender and Development.The country also has its own National Gender Policy through which it promised to increase female participation at all levels of politics and decision-making.Gender balance activists claim Swapo is merely paying lip service on the gender front.The party’s Women Council promised last year to push for 50 per cent representation in the top decision-making bodies and in the National Assembly.They decided to lobby for changing the ruling party’s constitution to require half of the party’s Politburo, Central Committee and MPs in the next National Assembly to be women.Yesterday, newly elected Secretary General Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana said she was disappointed by the developments.”The party is seized with the issue.It needs everybody’s involvement.Democracy has its own way of sorting things out,” she said.Swapo does not have a policy on gender equality.Ithana said the new leadership would work on formulating clear directives.In 2002 former Swapo President Sam Nujoma was forced to drop plans to nominate 21 women to the Swapo Central Committee.He was given legal advice that it was illegal but the resistance also took the form of claims of dictatorial behaviour being levelled at him.A resolution was passed at the 1997 congress already to increase the proportion of women delegates to the party’s congress up to 50 per cent.If Nujoma had had his way in nominating the 21 women, it would have left only 36 positions available in the election for the Central Committee.Many party stalwarts, most of them Ministers, feared they would have lost out to people who would have been “brought in by wheelchair”, in terms of an expression widely used by Swapo members.Having failed to get 50 per cent female representation, Nujoma, responding to lobbying by some in the Women’s Council leadership, decided to push for a quota on the Central Committee but once again failed.A decision was taken at the 2002 congress that in future the congress should “consider reserving the first 21 seats” on the Central Committee for “women comrades”.Yet again, that was not achieved at the last congress and the party’s gender balance has gone from bad to worse.In Government, 27 per cent of Ministers and 25 per cent of Deputy Ministers are women.Women Parliamentarians make up 27 per cent while 23 per cent of Permanent Secretaries and 24 per cent of Deputy Permanent Secretaries are women.Women make up around 32 per cent of the directors and heads of departments in the civil service.