Rosa Namises believes putting many women in top government jobs doesn't automatically improve things. The gender activist stated Sunday that these female officials must show real results through their actions. She stressed that these new ministers need to do more than just earn money from their positions.
President Nandi-Ndaitwah recently picked eight women to lead government departments out of fourteen total ministries. With Lucia Witbooi serving as her deputy, this brings the count to nine female Cabinet members. Namises praised the choice of Sanet Steenkamp for education minister because she has already shown great care for Namibian children during her previous work leading education programs.
Numbers alone fail to impress Namises when it comes to female representation. She cares about what these women bring to their jobs. She urged these female leaders to help each other and the men working alongside them to make sure everyone succeeds. Namises called for changes to the vice president role currently held by Witbooi.
She described the VP position as inactive right. She suggested reviewing how this office can better help the President with planning and making decisions beyond just filling in when the president travels. Namises challenged Emma Kantema-Gaomas, the new gender equality minister, to break from past approaches to gender violence.
She suggested treating gender violence as a national emergency if necessary and emphasized that men must participate in solving these problems. Despite her concerns, Namises remains optimistic about the future under the leadership of the country's first female president.
President Nandi-Ndaitwah recently picked eight women to lead government departments out of fourteen total ministries. With Lucia Witbooi serving as her deputy, this brings the count to nine female Cabinet members. Namises praised the choice of Sanet Steenkamp for education minister because she has already shown great care for Namibian children during her previous work leading education programs.
Numbers alone fail to impress Namises when it comes to female representation. She cares about what these women bring to their jobs. She urged these female leaders to help each other and the men working alongside them to make sure everyone succeeds. Namises called for changes to the vice president role currently held by Witbooi.
She described the VP position as inactive right. She suggested reviewing how this office can better help the President with planning and making decisions beyond just filling in when the president travels. Namises challenged Emma Kantema-Gaomas, the new gender equality minister, to break from past approaches to gender violence.
She suggested treating gender violence as a national emergency if necessary and emphasized that men must participate in solving these problems. Despite her concerns, Namises remains optimistic about the future under the leadership of the country's first female president.
