15 July 2020

Female MPs called to put their personal agendas aside

This is an open letter in response to the female MPs who recently boycotted a sexual and
reproductive health workshop.
Female members of Parliament, you are not boycotting efforts at legalising abortion. You
are boycotting the wellbeing of women across the country. It is frightening to think that the
abortion debate is what finally unites female MPs across party lines. If only they would show
such comradery when it comes to protecting women from gender-based violence.
Those of us who work tirelessly for the protection and empowerment of women are
outraged to learn that female MPs including Elma Dienda and Margaret Mensah-Williams,
recently refused to attend a workshop organised by the SADC-Parliamentary Forum on a
new sexual reproduction and health rights, HIV and AIDS governance project. We are even
more disheartened at the WhatsApp thread that has been circulating on social media where
female MPs, including Mensah-Williams, Dienda and Hoebes allegedly call the efforts to
initiate debates on sexual and reproductive health rights as “diabolical agendas, laced with
evil”.
What is diabolical is that sexual and reproductive health has been reduced to an ethical and
religious debate that completely ignores the devastating realities faced by girls in our
society. In 2013, the UNFPA estimated that 46 000 teenage girls were impregnated in
Namibia in the space of a year. That’s an average of 127 pregnancies per day. According to
a UNESCO situational analysis on Early and Unintended Pregnancy (EUP) done in 2019, EUP
directly effects two out of 10 teenage girls in Namibia. That means that 20% of our young
women have no control over their futures. They have been robbed of the ability to get a
decent, unhindered education. They have been robbed of the chance to pursue their
dreams and escape generational poverty. With these figures in mind, it is no surprise that
the Ministry of Health recorded 7 000 illegal abortions in the country in 2017. Let’s not
forget the thousands of illegal abortions that are taking place without our knowledge, which
could have fatal consequences for our women.
Dienda absolves herself from these issues by mentioning her involvement in tabling the
Learner Pregnancy Policy in 2017, a band-aid approach that does not address the root
causes of the problem. Although a big step in the right direction, the policy has been poorly
implemented and is failing to provide a holistic solution to EUP. Legislation of this sort does
not fully address the emotional and financial obligations that young mothers face, nor does
it place any of the responsibility upon those that impregnated these girls. Shall we remind
the public that sex with a girl under the age of 16 is rape? Yet, the responsibility of
contraception, child-bearing and child-rearing is carried solely by young girls, often with
stigma and shame. Unintended pregnancy is not only a problem for teenage girls, but for
many women who have been denied the right to decide what happens to their bodies,
women who have been coerced into sex or are abandoned once they are pregnant.
Religious organisations are entitled to their ethical opinions. After all, this is a democratic
country where we encourage and appreciate free speech and healthy debate. However,
Namibia is a secular state. The Members of Parliament in our democratic country are
elected to represent all the people of Namibia, regardless of their spiritual or moral beliefs.
Above and beyond, female Parliamentarians have an even greater responsibility to ensure
the health, wellbeing and safety of the girl child in Namibia. Imagine our immense
disappointment when these elected female leaders use their position and power to
tyrannically prevent this debate from occurring. Where were these voices and opinions
when Namibian women took to the streets, begging government to allocate more resources
to the fight against gender-based violence? In 2018, activists delivered an array of well-
researched recommendations to the Ministries of Gender, Health, Justice and the Namibian
Police to help protect our women. We submitted these recommendations to politicians
including Elma Dienda. Why, women in leadership, were you quiet?
There is no dispute that religious organisations and service providers have played a
significant role in the care of destitute women and children. Once we look beyond our
positions of “pro-life” or “pro-choice”, we will realise that we all have the same interests –
the wellbeing of mother and child. None of us want cyclical poverty or the violence that
potentially stems from childhood trauma and rejection. Perhaps one day, we can work
together to prioritize the health and wellbeing of women despite our ethical differences.
Until then, Namibia remains a democracy. All opinions are welcome. And our leaders are
elected to put their own personal opinions aside in order to pursue an agenda of poverty
eradication, social equity and the empowerment of women and children. We call upon our
female MPs to stop pursuing their personal agendas. As leaders, but more importantly, as
women you have been awarded an opportunity to make a difference and that comes with a
responsibility to deliberate and serve.
Yours in Solidarity,
Namibia’s Coalition Against Gender-based and Sexual Violence
gbsvcoalitionnamibia@gmail.com