What is the gender equality?
The state of Gender equality and the well-bring of children lives go hand and hand so if a women can live a strong healthy life the children will prosper better. Plagued by discrimination, dis-empowerment and poverty women and children around the globe are the main reason the countries are not flourishing. The effects of HIV/AIDS in women and girls are a leading violence caused but Namibia has made commendable efforts on the issue trying to fulfill the rights of the Namibia women and girls. Female headed
households are among the poorest; illiteracy which is higher among females hold them back from gainful
employment, productivity and participation in development; discriminatory beliefs deny access to health care, most
critically felt during pregnancy and childbirth; children of poor and illiterate women suffer greater consequences of ill health
and early death from preventable diseases while HIV and AIDS are more adversely affecting women and girls.
The gender-based violence, the s of HIV and
AIDS on women and girls and gender inequality in political participation are manifestations of a deeply-rooted belief
generally among men and women alike that women are meant to take a secondary role in society. Inheritance rights, property grabbing
against widows and orphans, poor maternal health and
access to productive employment are other forms of
inequality and discrimination relevant in Namibia’s
context. The empowering measure of Namibia women is political representation at all levels. Gender-based violence, extreme behavior that is
based on gender inequality and the need to express
a sense of male ‘superiority’ through physical and
non-physical domination, is an area of growing
concern in Namibia. a survey taken in 2000 showed that 44% of Namibia man think wife beating is justified, or more reason while in Caprivi region,the proportion was an overwhelming 91%.
With help from all levels on the decision-making process- from within their homes to the government- has repercussions in the Namibia as a nation striving to reduce poverty and optimize the opportunities for all its people to enjoy an improved quality of life.Progress has been made in education for women and girls, nut participation in areas of decision-making, and political power, has went down by a margin. Women hold 23% of the highest national political positions in the Cabinet of the nation (10 out of 43). In 2005 the SADC declaration on gender and development set a bar of 30% for women representation in public services decision-making positions, and Namibia has done and excellent job overall. The African Union (AU) has set a target of 50% representation by 2020,
a goal that the Namibia public service will have to galvanize itself to achieve.
A lot has been achieved in Namibia as far as parity in primary education, but as Namibia girls become women, the picture changes: women's participation in the work force drops and females unemployment rate are higher then male.The roles of women within traditional authority structures need to be examined and questioned; their rights
within customary law and the potential discrepancies between these and the rights they enjoy under domestic
legislation need to be harmonized.On the road to gender equality, Namibians will need to question why the early years of equal access to opportunities
for girls are denied to women.As gender issues lie at the root of many inequalities in Namibia, women also need to be encouraged to participate
actively at all levels of public life with full support from their male peers, thus raising the profile of women and
improving their capacity to advocate on behalf of children and vulnerable members of society.
