Namibia: Gender and Governance today
21 Mar 2012 - As the 2014 elections are just around the corner, the need for women to engage within political parties cannot be over-emphasized, nor its importance underestimated. Political parties play a crucial role in a modern representative democracy. Despite all their imperfections, the functions they perform cannot be taken on by any other entity.
Gender issues in the 2009 elections became a news-worthy topic in the local mainstream media high-lighting stories on women’s participation in politics, their placement on parties’ lists and gender analyses of the political parties’ manifestos. But even though women represent 52% of the vote, the fact that Namibia still has no legislative quota for women at the national level and the poor showing of women on some of the major political parties’ lists contributed to the unfavorable direction for women in politics and decision-making in parliament.
For the full story, see Informante.
21 Mar 2012 - As the 2014 elections are just around the corner, the need for women to engage within political parties cannot be over-emphasized, nor its importance underestimated. Political parties play a crucial role in a modern representative democracy. Despite all their imperfections, the functions they perform cannot be taken on by any other entity.
Gender issues in the 2009 elections became a news-worthy topic in the local mainstream media high-lighting stories on women’s participation in politics, their placement on parties’ lists and gender analyses of the political parties’ manifestos. But even though women represent 52% of the vote, the fact that Namibia still has no legislative quota for women at the national level and the poor showing of women on some of the major political parties’ lists contributed to the unfavorable direction for women in politics and decision-making in parliament.
For the full story, see Informante.