by Dianne Hubbard
The new Namibian Constitution contains some important statements about women's rights which can help women to have more equality in our society.
As women of Namibia, we must speak out about our needs and our priorities. We must guide the government on women's issues so that women's rights will be applied in ways that are relevant to our lives.
The most important protection for women's rights is Article Ten, which concerns equality and freedom from discrimination:
(1) All persons shall be equal before the law.
(2) No persons may be discriminated against on the grounds of sex, race,...
This provision can be used to challenge any law, past or future, which discriminates against women. It can also be used to challenge government policies and practices which discriminate against women, and perhaps even to challenge sexual discrimination by individuals, employers or organisations.
Article 23, which is entitled Apartheid and Affirmative Action, authorizes Parliament to implement policies and programmes "aimed at redressing social, economic or educational imbalances in the Namibian society arising out of past discriminatory laws or practices."
Women should take the initiative for suggesting affirmative action programmes which they believe will benefit them. Parliament will be concerned with implementing policies to compensate for racial discrimination in the past, and women must make sure that women's issues do not get pushed aside in the meantime.
Another important provision for women is Article 14 on the family:
(1) Men and women... have the right to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage, and at its dissolution.
(2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
(3) The family is the... group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.
This means that no woman can be forced into a marriage against her will, and that men and women are guaranteed equal rights in marriage and divorce. Many of the existing laws and traditions about marriage and divorce will be in conflict with this Article and must be examined. Women in Namibia must speak out about what choices we would like to have in marriage and divorce.
The statement on the protection of the family can be used to strengthen women's arguments for adequate arrangements for child care by the State, and by private employers as well.
The Constitution does not explain exactly what is meant by the word "family." For example, it is not clear if the protection for the family applies to single mothers and extended families, or only to the nuclear family unit where there has been a formal marriage. Women should help to identify the forms of the family that need protection in everyday life. There is also a section of the Constitution which contains principles of State policy which are not actually binding. They are intended to "guide the government in making and applying laws."
Several of these principles of state policy concern women. The state is to actively promote the welfare of the people by enacting laws "to ensure equality and opportunity for women, to enable them to participate fully in all spheres of Namibian society."
The Government is also directed to provide "maternity and related benefits" for women through appropriate laws. (There is no mention of paternity leave to enable fathers to share the responsibilities of a new baby, but there is nothing in the new Constitution that would prohibit Parliament from providing paternity benefits as well as maternity benefits.)
The amount of attention given to women's rights in the Constitution is heartening, but it will be up to the women of Namibia to ensure that women's rights in the new Constitution are actually put into practice in meaningful ways.
Source:
Sister: Namibia No.l, Vol. 2, P.O. Box 60100 Katutura 9000 NAMIBIA
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Sister is a new publication by women in the newly independent country of Namibia. Its goal is to ensure that the true equality between women and men as stated in the new Constitution will be attained in reality. Sister welcomes contributions such as books for The Sister Resource Center and publications for Sister magazine. It is a collective, autonomous, non-affiliated, non-profit organization