San Women stand up

The Women's Leadership Centre (WLC), in Namibia through its community outreach programme, adopted the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) to empower women in rural areas. An event recently hosted by WLC saw many young San women narrate stories about some of the difficulties they face in different parts of the country. The women sharing their stories came from the Kavango East, Khomas and Omaheke regions.They reflected on stories that relate to education, health, traditional practices, language barriers, land and many other areas they feel trampled on in terms of their rights.Menesia Kandombe, who hails from Muitjiku village in Kavango East Region shared sentimental stories about the way San people are treated with regard to their education needs. While referring to the medium of communication at her school, she feels the San people lag behind because the lessons are not taught in their native language. “The first language at our school is Hambukushu and we miss out on a lot of things in class because we are being forced to speak a language that is not ours,” said Kandombe. She also said San people are being unfairly marked and failed in schools in her region because they cannot express themselves in the Hambukushu language. “If I am a San language speaker and I pass all my grades but fail Hambukushu, I will remain in the same grade. Sometimes people keep failing that language until they are forced to leave the school. This is the main reason why San children cannot finish school,” shared Kandombe.Kandombe also said that San learners are sent back home when they go to school without school uniforms. “Everyone must wear uniform at school but our San parents cannot afford them. We go with caps and jerseys to school and they are confiscated and then we are sent away from school until you can afford to buy a uniform,” Kandombe added. She called on the government to allow San people to be taught in their languages in order for them to understand better what they are taught in schools. “The government must do something so that we are taught in our own language. It is difficult for young ones to learn because we are taught in other languages,” said Kandombe.Another woman, Renate Kayawe also from Muitjiku village, spoke at length about the San people's rights to freedom of movement. “We are restricted and cannot move freely. We live in a Park and there is a law that says that if we wonder five metres from the Park's boundaries we will be arrested,” said Kayawe. She also said because the San people's movements are restricted, they cannot live according to their traditional practices. “San people in the past used to live in the forest and they lived off the forest but we cannot do that anymore. We cannot collect or sell the devil's claw anymore because of rules set by the government,” said Kawaye.She also advised the government to recognise San traditional leaders in order for them to live prosperously. “Government must recognise our traditional leaders so we have people who can represent us,” said Kawaye.Jolanda Gamgaebes from the Tsintsabis area highlighted a stark image about education in her community. “In our community we only have a pre-primary school and our high school only ends at Grade 10. Our hostels are overcrowded and there is not enough food for the children in the hostels,” said Gamgaebes. She said they are in need of transport for the learners in her community to go to the closest town, Tsumeb, because they live in isolation and it is a challenge to access community services. “We need transport to go to other places. The unemployment rate in Tsintsabis is too high. There are no vocational training centres here,” shared Gamgaebes.Maria Garises who is from Drimiopsis in Omaheke Region said it was unfair that the San youth are not being treated fairly in Namibia. “We do not feel independent in this country, as proud as we are,” said Garises. She said that her community's health services are not satisfactory. “We used to have mobile clinics in our community in the past but now there are no mobile clinics anymore because the government does not have money,” said Garises.Another resident of Drimiopsis, Josephine Swaartkopi, said the people were subjected to tribalism in their area when it comes to the provision of drought relief food. “If a young person comes to collect drought relief food, the people distributing it look at the colour of your skin and whether you can speak a San language or not. If you cannot speak San language but you are San they do not give you the food,” said SwaartkopiEricke Diana who works with the San people in Omaheke Region thanked WLC for providing a platform for San youth to express themselves about issues that affect them. “San people are naturally quiet people but I thank you to CEDAW for making it possible for us to speak about issues that affect us,” said Diana.Elsarien Katiti, board member of the National Youth Council (NYC) said that San people were capable of becoming outstanding leaders and the perception that the San are lazy people is wrong. “People think San people are lazy but we are not. We can thrive in education and be exemplary members in society. I am proving that San people are capable of doing something for themselves if they are educated,” said Katiti.The San women from the different communities also performed at the Warehouse theatre alongside Namibian artist Shishani. Namibia started implementing the CEDAW programme as far back as 1992. CEDAW is often described as an international bill of rights for women and it comprises articles which outline what constitutes discrimination against women and sets up an agenda for national action to end such discrimination.Shona Ngava

San Women stand up

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-17

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San Women stand up

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-17

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