Women march against forced sterilisation - by Catherine Sasman
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WINDHOEK â€" About 100 women and men marched from the Katutura Shoprite Centre to the High Court in the centre of Windhoek on Tuesday to protest forced sterilisation of women living with HIV in public health facilities in Namibia.
"Non-negotiable my body, my womb, my rights," shouted the demonstrators, some with small children on their hips or strapped to their backs.
In 2007, it came to light that HIV-positive women seeking reproductive health services were allegedly subjected to sterilisation without their full and informed consent in two Namibian regions.
The 'End Forced Sterilisation' campaign â€" of which the demonstration is a part â€" will petition decision-makers and the public until the end of the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence that ends on December 10, to garner signatures in protest against forced sterilisation.
The campaign also aims at raising public awareness about the violations of human rights of these women, seeking redress for the affected women.
It further calls on Government to immediately stop the practice of the alleged sterilisation of HIV-infected women without their full and informed consent.
Veronica Kalambi, project coordinator of the Women's Health Network, said women need people to explain to them the forms they sign, failing which women could find themselves in a position where they sign away their rights.
"[This] issue does not only affect the women who are sterilised, or those living with HIV," said Rosa Namises of Women Solidarity Namibia. "It is a gross violation against all women, our communities and our constitutional rights!"
The march was also in support of litigation by the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC) against the Namibian Government on behalf of six affected women seeking redress in the High Court.
The case of three plaintiffs has been postponed.
Government (the respondent in this matter) raised a defence that the plaintiffs' cases are unenforceable due to the fact that the plaintiffs did not comply with Section 33 of the Public Service Act of 1995.
The Act provides that in litigation against Government, written notice must be issued within one year of the cause of action arising.
Norman Tjombe of the LAC argued that the Act does not apply to the pending litigation, and if it does apply, the LAC further argued that Section 33 be called unconstitutional "for it unfairly limits a citizen's right to go to court and violate such person's right to equality, which are all guaranteed by the Namibian Constitution".
The case was postponed until November 24, together with three more cases of women that have been sterilised because of their HIV status.
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"Non-negotiable my body, my womb, my rights," shouted the demonstrators, some with small children on their hips or strapped to their backs.
In 2007, it came to light that HIV-positive women seeking reproductive health services were allegedly subjected to sterilisation without their full and informed consent in two Namibian regions.
The 'End Forced Sterilisation' campaign â€" of which the demonstration is a part â€" will petition decision-makers and the public until the end of the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence that ends on December 10, to garner signatures in protest against forced sterilisation.
The campaign also aims at raising public awareness about the violations of human rights of these women, seeking redress for the affected women.
It further calls on Government to immediately stop the practice of the alleged sterilisation of HIV-infected women without their full and informed consent.
Veronica Kalambi, project coordinator of the Women's Health Network, said women need people to explain to them the forms they sign, failing which women could find themselves in a position where they sign away their rights.
"[This] issue does not only affect the women who are sterilised, or those living with HIV," said Rosa Namises of Women Solidarity Namibia. "It is a gross violation against all women, our communities and our constitutional rights!"
The march was also in support of litigation by the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC) against the Namibian Government on behalf of six affected women seeking redress in the High Court.
The case of three plaintiffs has been postponed.
Government (the respondent in this matter) raised a defence that the plaintiffs' cases are unenforceable due to the fact that the plaintiffs did not comply with Section 33 of the Public Service Act of 1995.
The Act provides that in litigation against Government, written notice must be issued within one year of the cause of action arising.
Norman Tjombe of the LAC argued that the Act does not apply to the pending litigation, and if it does apply, the LAC further argued that Section 33 be called unconstitutional "for it unfairly limits a citizen's right to go to court and violate such person's right to equality, which are all guaranteed by the Namibian Constitution".
The case was postponed until November 24, together with three more cases of women that have been sterilised because of their HIV status.
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