Women unite to change child status bill

WITH less than a week to go before the National Council (NC) session starts, the Namibian public on Wednesday started to make their views known on a bill which, for better or worse, may soon be passed by the reviewing body.

The Children’s Status Bill, which aims for the equal treatment of children born in and outside of marriage, is currently under discussion in a public hearing called by a NC Standing Committee appointed last year to scrutinise the proposed law. A group of around 60 people, less than ten of whom were men, joined the discussions to support amendments to the bill as proposed by the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC) and supported by 24 other organisations.One of the group’s main proposals is that parents of children born outside of marriage should not be granted equal custody and guardianship of the child, as is currently proposed in the bill.”We agree that fathers need more protection for their rights as fathers,” said lawyer Dianne Hubbard of the LAC’s Gender Research and Advocacy Unit, “but we do not think that the mechanism of equal custody and guardianship will serve the best interest of the child in the majority of family situations.”Hubbard proposed that, as a starting point, custody of a child born outside of wedlock should be granted to the mother, as it’s certain the mother will be present at birth, and as breastfeeding is regarded as best for a child’s health.She also noted the social reality in Namibia, saying that at present mothers usually take responsibility for daily childcare.”There will be fewer cases that have to go to court if custody by the mother is the starting point,” she said.The group proposed that fathers should be allowed to apply for custody at any point through a magistrate’s court, without the need for lawyers, but through investigation by a social worker if necessary.The group alerted the committee that the current bill, in allowing for equal custody for both parents, would cause problems for women falling pregnant as a result of rape.As the bill stands currently, Hubbard said, a rape victim wanting to give up a child born from such an act for adoption would have to gain the consent of the rapist, who would have the same parental rights as her.”There is a long-standing principle that people should not be able to benefit from their own crimes,” Hubbard said.”It is inconceivable that a rapist who has forced a pregnancy on a woman through a brutal act of forced sex should be able have any say in whether or not she is able to give the child who is the fruit of that rape up for adoption,” she said.The group also proposed an amendment to a section of the bill which states that the High Court should review any decision by a children’s court if that decision alters a previous High Court provision on custody, guardianship or access.”We recommend that all decisions of a children’s court pertaining to custody, guardianship or access should be subject to High Court review – at least where there are opposing parties involved,” Hubbard said.Women in attendance questioned whether the bill, if it comes into effect, would be able to deal with the various situations some of them had found themselves in.In one instance, a woman recalled how she had gotten married to a man who, along with her, raised her daughter who at that point was three years old.After the child had grown up, the two of them got divorced, and her ex-husband started an affair with her daughter, out of which two girls were born.Her daughter later died an unnatural death, she said, and after questioning the two children, their father became a suspect in their mother’s death.”Will this law now give custody to him?” she asked.”What guarantee do I have that he won’t raise those two girls to become his wives later?” “I want to see the bill implemented in the reality of Namibian life,” agreed Elizabeth Khaxas of women’s organisation Sister Namibia.”I don’t want this to be some sort of futuristic document or an educational tool to wake men up to their responsibilities.”The reality is that women are the ones taking care of the babies, breast-feeding them, teaching them language, and changing their nappies.”A group of around 60 people, less than ten of whom were men, joined the discussions to support amendments to the bill as proposed by the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC) and supported by 24 other organisations.One of the group’s main proposals is that parents of children born outside of marriage should not be granted equal custody and guardianship of the child, as is currently proposed in the bill.”We agree that fathers need more protection for their rights as fathers,” said lawyer Dianne Hubbard of the LAC’s Gender Research and Advocacy Unit, “but we do not think that the mechanism of equal custody and guardianship will serve the best interest of the child in the majority of family situations.”Hubbard proposed that, as a starting point, custody of a child born outside of wedlock should be granted to the mother, as it’s certain the mother will be present at birth, and as breastfeeding is regarded as best for a child’s health.She also noted the social reality in Namibia, saying that at present mothers usually take responsibility for daily childcare. “There will be fewer cases that have to go to court if custody by the mother is the starting point,” she said.The group proposed that fathers should be allowed to apply for custody at any point through a magistrate’s court, without the need for lawyers, but through investigation by a social worker if necessary.The group alerted the committee that the current bill, in allowing for equal custody for both parents, would cause problems for women falling pregnant as a result of rape.As the bill stands currently, Hubbard said, a rape victim wanting to give up a child born from such an act for adoption would have to gain the consent of the rapist, who would have the same parental rights as her.”There is a long-standing principle that people should not be able to benefit from their own crimes,” Hubbard said.”It is inconceivable that a rapist who has forced a pregnancy on a woman through a brutal act of forced sex should be able have any say in whether or not she is able to give the child who is the fruit of that rape up for adoption,” she said.The group also proposed an amendment to a section of the bill which states that the High Court should review any decision by a children’s court if that decision alters a previous High Court provision on custody, guardianship or access.”We recommend that all decisions of a children’s court pertaining to custody, guardianship or access should be subject to High Court review – at least where there are opposing parties involved,” Hubbard said.Women in attendance questioned whether the bill, if it comes into effect, would be able to deal with the various situations some of them had found themselves in.In one instance, a woman recalled how she had gotten married to a man who, along with her, raised her daughter who at that point was three years old.After the child had grown up, the two of them got divorced, and her ex-husband started an affair with her daughter, out of which two girls were born.Her daughter later died an unnatural death, she said, and after questioning the two children, their father became a suspect in their mother’s death.”Will this law now give custody to him?” she asked.”What guarantee do I have that he won’t raise those two girls to become his wives later?” “I want to see the bill implemented in the reality of Namibian life,” agreed Elizabeth Khaxas of women’s organisation Sister Namibia.”I don’t want this to be some sort of futuristic document or an educational tool to wake men up to their responsibilities.”The reality is that women are the ones taking care of the babies, breast-feeding them, teaching them language, and changing their nappies.”