The Namibian Women's Manifesto Network 50-50: women and men in local government--get the balance right!

Campaign for gender balanced "zebra" party lists and gender policies for the local government elections 2004

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What is the current representation of women and men in local government in Namibia?

Women are more than half of the Namibian population and more than 52 percent of voters, yet women hold fewer elected positions than men in Local Councils across the country.

But we are close to achieving gender balance at this level of government! In the 1998 Local Authority elections, 43 percent of the Local Councillors elected were women. This success is due largely to an affirmative action provision in the Local Authorities Act, which requires political parties and associations to place a certain minimum number of women on their candidate lists. If the political parties had alternated women and men "zebra style" on their candidate lists we would already have achieved gender balance at the local level.

The women elected to serve on their local councils have risen to the challenge and provided good leadership in their communities. A number of them are currently Mayors or Deputy Mayors, others have moved on to higher office, for example by becoming head of a national institution or an ambassador.

The Namibian Women's Manifesto Network together with its allies now challenges political parties to go beyond affirmative action to gender equality and gender justice by putting forward gender balanced zebra style party lists (alternating women and men candidates on their lists) in the 2004 local government elections and all future elections at this level.

Why should political parties implement 50/50?

1 ... because political parties must implement our Consitution.

The Namibian Constitution states that all people are equal before the law and that no-one may be discriminated against on the grounds of sex or race. (Article 10)

The Constitution points out that women have suffered special discrimination in the past. It says that Parliament may need to take special steps to help women play an equal role in all areas of life in Namibia. (Article 23)

Yet participation in public life, and in particular in politics and decision making, is still seen by many as something that "men do". Women are not encouraged to enter public political life, and those who do face the burden of work both outside and inside the home, as well as a lack of support for their public role.

Political parties must therefore take the lead in leveling the playing field for women, by making space for women to participate equally in politics and educating men to share equally in housework and the raising of children.

2 ... because political parties must implement our National Gender Policy and Plan of Action.

The National Gender Policy states that government shall strive 'to establish mechanisms for attaining the goal of gender balance in government bodies and committees, public administration, judiciary and any other decision making organs'. Further, the National Gender Plan of Action calls for gender balance at all levels of government, including cabinet, by 2003!

3 ... because women bring different perspectives on development challenges and solutions to the table.

In Namibia women and children are the poorest of the poor in our communities. Women work as subsistence farmers, domestic workers and in the informal economy, many of them as single parents with little support from the fathers of their children. They hold families and communities together in the face of poverty, escalating domestic violence and the impact of illness and death as we move from being a society affected by HIV to a society affected by Aids which does not yet provide treatment to all those who need it.

The Namibian Women's Manifesto Network therefore calls on political parties and associations to seriously study the National Gender Policy and the international instruments for gender equality signed by our government, including CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women), the SADC Declaration on Gender and Development, and the Beijing Platform for Action. Political parties must develop policies to implement these agreements at the local level. We urge political parties to set specific time-bound targets that promote gender equality in our families and communities.

We call on women, men and young people to vote for political parties and associations that will work towards gender equality and the empowerment of women in our towns and villages in the following ways:

The Development of Gender Policies

All Local Councils must use the tool of gender analysis to develop gender policies. This should be done in consultation with the local community to ensure that all development and service delivery strategies adopted by the councils are gender sensitive and result in gender equality in the community.

The Establishment of Gender Desks

All Local Councils must establish structures such as gender desks or committees to oversee the implementation of the gender policy, and mechanisms for community participation in the monitoring and evaluation of progress towards gender equality.

Gender Budgeting

All Local Councils must use the tool of gender budgeting to ensure equitable distribution of resources to all citizens as well as to correct past imbalances.

Checklist for Gender Equality in the Local Government Elections:

* My political party has put forward a 50/50 "zebra-style" party list, alternating women and men on the list.

* My political party has included specific and time-bound gender policies in its party platform.

The power of political parties lies in the vote of women. Women are more than 52% of the voters. Our vote is for 50/50 and for gender policies for Local Government!

Members of the following organisations are participating in this Campaign:

Sister Namibia--Legal Assistance Centre--Namibia NGO Forum (NANGOF)--Namibia Institute for Democracy--Namibian Women's Association--Women's Solidarity--Khomas Women in Development--Victory Women's Movement--Namibian Women's Network--Namibian Girl Child Organisation--Women Support Women--Namibian Association of Differently Abled Women--Multi-Media Campaign on Violence Against Women and Children--Young Women's Christian Association--Namibian Women's Lobby--Forum for the Future--Lifeline/Childline--Namibian National Association for the Deaf--Penduka--Okatumbatumba Hawkers Association--Trade Union Congress of Namibia--The Rainbow Project--Namibia Development Trust--National Society for Human Rights--Ehafo Trust--!Nara Training Centre--Rural People's Institute for Social Empowerment--Working Group of Indigenous Minorities in Southern Africa--Namibian Planned Parenthood Association--Lironga Eparu--Shack Dwellers Federation--Rossing Foundation--Stop the Violence Community Action--Breaking the Wall of Silence--Peoples Square--The Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia--Phillippi Namibia--Namibia Media Women's Association--The University Centre for Studies in Namibia--MISA Namibia--Namibian Women's Manifesto Network Facilitators in 30 towns and villages across Namibia.

If you need more information or would like to support this Campaign, please contact Sister Namibia at

Tel [phone], Fax 236371, PO Box 40092, Windhoek, Namibia. Email: [e-mail]

This Campaign was made possible through assistance from Namibia Institute for Democracy, Oxfam Canada, the Royal Netherlands Embassy and the Heinrich Boll Foundation.

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Beyond this, the Namibian Women's Manifesto Network calls on political parties and associations to spell out how local councils under their leadership will:

* Develop and implement programmes to eliminate poverty

* Promote the economic independence of women

* Provide access to affordable housing and land

* Provide affordable and safe childcare facilities

* Contribute to the combating of violence against women and children

* Support prevention programmes and the provision of treatment and care for people living with HIV and Aids

* Promote the reproductive and sexual health and rights of girls and women

* Promote access to education and lifelong learning 

* Promote the equal sharing of domestic responsibilities between men and women.