Prisons serious about gender equality
A correctional services campaign to ensure gender equality awareness of both staff and those they guard, has been launched.
Prison authorities this week launched a gender equality awareness campaign aimed at correctional officers and those they are tasked to guard across the country.
Commissioner Johannes Konjore told those attending the first gender awareness campaign that prison authorities are duty bound to ensure gender equality is understood and applied in prisons.
Victor Shipoh, the director of gender equality in the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare, provided an overview of Namibia's national gender policy and action plan.
Konjore explained that the same exercise will take place across the country in coming months.
He said gender issues have not been prioritised to date and it's time to “get to the bone of the matter of gender, because gender has become the main topic globally. Nobody should be left behind.”
He said the campaign was aimed at engendering a deeper understanding of gender issues and that it isn't merely a women's issue, but one that affects everyone.
Shipoh said male dominance and patriarchy are deeply rooted issues in Namibia that affect all spheres of life.
He stressed that gender equality is enshrined in the Namibian constitution and the government is bound not only by national policies, but also international agreements, to ensure all Namibians are treated equally.
The goal of the national gender policy, he explained, is to “achieve gender equality and empowerment of women and men, boys and girls in the socio-economic, cultural and political development of Namibia.”
Shipoh emphasised that gender equality policies do not only extend to prison warders but to inmates too. Although budgets are tight, everyone in the prison system should try to cater to the different needs of male and female inmates alike.
“Gender equality means working together. We need both women and men. Don't think only of yourself, but of the larger Namibian society you live in and think about our children, so that they grow up in an equal society where they speak the language of us, not them.”
Although Namibian society has made great strides in implementing gender equality, Shipoh said severe concerns remain, especially about violence against women and children and damaging cultural practices.
Forty-one percent of men and a third of women continue to believe that beatings are justifiable because of cultural perceptions that promote unequal power relationships in families, he said.
Rape and gender-based violence are rampant, in addition to child marriages and teenage pregnancies which contribute to girls dropping out of school.
Further, Namibian women have the highest rate of HIV infection and new HIV cases.
Studies have shown that poverty is more pronounced in female-headed households in rural areas, and women's representation in the business, political and other spheres remains low.
JANA-MARI SMITH
Commissioner Johannes Konjore told those attending the first gender awareness campaign that prison authorities are duty bound to ensure gender equality is understood and applied in prisons.
Victor Shipoh, the director of gender equality in the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare, provided an overview of Namibia's national gender policy and action plan.
Konjore explained that the same exercise will take place across the country in coming months.
He said gender issues have not been prioritised to date and it's time to “get to the bone of the matter of gender, because gender has become the main topic globally. Nobody should be left behind.”
He said the campaign was aimed at engendering a deeper understanding of gender issues and that it isn't merely a women's issue, but one that affects everyone.
Shipoh said male dominance and patriarchy are deeply rooted issues in Namibia that affect all spheres of life.
He stressed that gender equality is enshrined in the Namibian constitution and the government is bound not only by national policies, but also international agreements, to ensure all Namibians are treated equally.
The goal of the national gender policy, he explained, is to “achieve gender equality and empowerment of women and men, boys and girls in the socio-economic, cultural and political development of Namibia.”
Shipoh emphasised that gender equality policies do not only extend to prison warders but to inmates too. Although budgets are tight, everyone in the prison system should try to cater to the different needs of male and female inmates alike.
“Gender equality means working together. We need both women and men. Don't think only of yourself, but of the larger Namibian society you live in and think about our children, so that they grow up in an equal society where they speak the language of us, not them.”
Although Namibian society has made great strides in implementing gender equality, Shipoh said severe concerns remain, especially about violence against women and children and damaging cultural practices.
Forty-one percent of men and a third of women continue to believe that beatings are justifiable because of cultural perceptions that promote unequal power relationships in families, he said.
Rape and gender-based violence are rampant, in addition to child marriages and teenage pregnancies which contribute to girls dropping out of school.
Further, Namibian women have the highest rate of HIV infection and new HIV cases.
Studies have shown that poverty is more pronounced in female-headed households in rural areas, and women's representation in the business, political and other spheres remains low.
JANA-MARI SMITH
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