New Era

WINDHOEK â€" International Women's Day will be celebrated tomorrow.

The day will see a number of events such as conferences and other activities take place. December 10 will also be a combined holiday with Namibia Women's Day, which commemorates the bravely adamant women who, in the 1950s, led the resistance to a proposed forced removal of the black people from the Old Location (now known as Hochland Park suburb) to Katutura.

During the struggles and upheavals, and by December 10, 1959, eleven people were killed by the apartheid police, with a further 44 requiring medical attention. According to recently published media reports, among the murdered was Kakurukaze Mungunda, who was shot after setting alight a vehicle belonging to the then Mayor of Windhoek. Mungunda is now regarded as a Namibian heroine.

According to Victor Shipoh, who is a director at the Ministry of Gender and Child Welfare, the ministry has one major event planned at Omuthiya in the Oshikoto Region. The event will encompass several other celebrations and recognised events such as the International Women's Day itself, and the culmination of the 16 days of gender activism that normally starts on November 25.

Shipoh stated, "As I'm speaking, I'm in the Oshikoto Region, overseeing the planning and setting up of the event. We, the ministry, alongside United Nations supported agencies, are hosting it. There will be many activities including a speech by the First Lady, Penehupifo Pohamba, talks by the various councillors and ministers, and performances by cultural groups."

On the question of why the celebrations are being held so far away from the moderately bustling capital city of Windhoek, Shipoh explained that celebration venues differ from year to year and Omuthiya was found fit to host because it was recently declared a town.

In another interview, Development Planner at the Ministry of Gender and Child Welfare, Bwana Hainyanyula, stated that another reason for the celebrations to be held in the Oshikoto Region is that social problems and gender related issues are probably of a higher magnitude and concern in such areas than in more urbanised centres.

Celebrations in Omuthiya will commence at about 09h00 tomorrow. Shipoh stated that they expect a crowd of 2Â 000 to 3Â 000 people, depending on public awareness of this event. The theme for the celebrations in Namibia this year is "Commit, Act, Demand: We Can End Violence Against Women."

Other parts of Africa and the world have also been centres (often silent ones) for gender-based inequality, abuse and violence. The term 'silent centres' is used because most societies worldwide are patriarchal in nature, thereby rendering abuse of women and children to go unpunished and unreported but accepted by the victims.

With awareness and a lot of bravery, (which hopefully will rub off on millions of other women world over), however, a handful of victims have in recent years, broken their yoke of silence and suffering, and cried out the pain that women should not have to endure. Indeed, this year's International Women's Day should bring to mind great women of the Old Location and other parts of the world such as Amina Lawal.

In July 2002, Amina Lawal of Nigeria was sentenced to death by stoning after an Islamic court convicted her of adultery under Sharia Law. Lawal armed herself with lawyers funded by human rights organisations contested her sentence.

Talk-show host Oprah Winfrey screened a special on Lawal and urged viewers to send protest e-mails to the Nigerian ambassador in the United States. This resulted in over 1.2 million e-mails being sent to the embassy. Media reports state that on September 25, 2003, the Katsina State Sharia Court of Appeal overturned Lawal's sentence and she was freed. The five-judge panel stated that she was not given "ample opportunity to defend herself" in prior proceedings.

The Women for Action and Development said they are closing for the Christmas break today, hence they have nothing planned.

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