Honouring women in sports

From whatever perspective you may look, the sport industry is dominated by men. Recently the world celebrated International Women's Day so let me also take this opportunity to honour fellow women in this male-dominated industry.

Sports journalism is generally viewed as a beat that is assigned mainly to men, but many women the world over have overcome the challenges they encounter in their daily duties in order to attain their occupational goals and expectations. This in itself is testimony to how determined women are.

In journalism, sport is a beat that is paralleled with other beats, but it is sad that most people view it as a beat that must be assigned only to men. In recognition of the women who have taken the bull by its horns and broken into this male-only beat, I am dedicating this column to these women.

I am however not going to praise the brevity of these women but rather focus on what women in Namibia's sports fraternity can do to uplift the girl child whether you are a journalist or sports administrator.

Firstly, my salutations to the football association's women's desk that is led by women and going all out to promote women's football. They are working hard to bring women's football on par with that of men in this country.

The level at which women's football is being promoted in the country is incredible and I like the fact that it is not just about playing football, but also about promoting the well-being of the girl child and assisting her to excel in her academic studies.

This is just one of the associations or departments that I have observed doing so very well and I believe that it is doing much to promote women's sport and to bring the girl child on the same level at that of the boy child.

Let me however not forget to hail the rugby, hockey and cricket too for their incredible work in promoting women participating in these sport codes.

What I find amazing is seeing women playing rugby. This is a sport that has been described by many as not meant for the fainthearted, because of the nature of the game that is dominated by crude attacks and injuries suffered by the players.

Tennis, amongst other sports has also been doing an incredible job in promoting women and therefore this contribution cannot go without acknowledgement.

What upsets me in boxing is the fact that female boxers in this country are not properly looked after, especially at professional level. I ask myself, “Are we doing justice to the talent and aspiring female boxers out there?”

As the country is busy reviewing the Sport Act, I hope women boxers at professional level will receive the much-needed attention they deserve. The directive by the International Boxing Association last year compelling every international event to feature female boxers is a step in the right direction for countries to ensure that administrators promote the game to encourage the interest of the girl child.

It should be the aim of each sport code in the country to promote women in sports, but I am not apologetic about my view that the National Women in Sports Association (NAWISA) is not doing enough and can do better than what it is doing.

It is not surprising that there are people who do not know about the association and that shows that there is a need for innovative thinking beyond the administrative work to reach out to the communities in order to gain the interest of Namibian women.

We are not doing badly as a nation, but I believe we can do more than we are doing now to promote women in sports. It is only when we all cooperate that the world will notice our footprints and consequently attract investors in our programmes.

There is still so much that we can do to promote women in sports than what we are doing now. Bravo to all the women in sports!



[email protected]