Zambezi women find their voice

JANA-MARI SMITH A handful of determined women are empowering Zambezi women to say no to customs harmful to their bodies and minds and teaching them to see themselves as human beings instead of voiceless and submissive wives and daughters.“We have taught the girls to say no. They have a choice,” human rights activist Patience Mutabelezi (29), a community facilitator with the Women’s Leadership Centre (WLC) from Chinchimane village, told Namibian Sun. Mutabelezi and her colleagues, Daphne Siyunda (30) from Libula village and human rights advocate Mimi Mwiya, are educating women in the region about their universal human rights in order to help abolish harmful cultural practices.Their work is not easy. They face a slew of challenges, including lack of funding, criticism that they are destroying customs and meddling with taboo subjects, and threats from men and women who ardently disagree with the work they do. Yet all three underline that transforming toxic practices that expose women to sexual and physical abuse, unwanted marriages, pregnancies and illness will not destroy their cultures, but improve them. Evolve“It’s not about abolishing culture. It’s about transforming culture,” Mutabelezi says. She believes violence has long been condoned “in the name of culture.”Mwiya says it is natural to defend what is yours, but underlines that the WLC programme to abolish harmful cultural practices is a home-grown project arising out of the needs of women.“My favourite thing about the WLC project is that it came from the people at home.”She says the project was borne out of discussions with women who shared what was happening to them in their homes and villages “under the guise of culture.”And, because the region is deeply patriarchal and traditional, the sense that a specific way of life is under attack by the WLC project is understandable. She stresses however that everything evolves, including cultures. “Why do we decide now this is it, that we are done evolving, and we won’t question anything further? Why can’t we objectively take the good and leave the bad?”Success is hardSiyunda’s work with women and girls in her village led to a milestone achievement two years ago when the village banned ‘sikenge’, the initiation ritual through which girls are “prepared to become women according to the norms and values of their traditional culture.”The change, she says, was achieved after many conversations with women and the lesson that they “can make their own decisions”.The WLC tackles taboo and difficult subjects chiefly through explaining that Namibia’s constitutional rights and laws, as well as universal treaties on human rights, apply to everyone and override practices that may have been in place for centuries but ultimately violate these rights. And, although many were pleased with the decision to end initiations, it was inevitable that some “men were angry, even though we tried to involve them. Men are often confused; they don’t know what is happening.”HurtHarmful cultural practices, which are still observed despite arguments that they are a thing of the past, expose girls and women to emotional and physical abuse and put them at high risk of contracting HIV or other diseases. Many of the practices involve making the bodies of young girls sexually available to men, and expose them to pain, humiliation, violence and sickness. An insidious side-effect of the initiation according to the WLC is the increased risk of HIV for girls and women, with statistics consistently indicating the higher prevalence of HIV in the region compared to the rest of Namibia. Moreover, the culture teaches girls they have no say in their lives. “The enforced silence and obedience rob women of the power of their voice, their freedom of speech and opinion, and their right to speak out and negotiate to protect their own interests.”Mwiya says the work is primarily to push for women to gain confidence to use their voices, and to empower them.“Be strong, speak out, make noise. Be heard, be seen. Understand your rights and use them.”ForwardWhile funding troubles have for long limited the WLC’s reach in the region, Mutabelezi, Siyunda or Mwiya continued their work with no pay, offices or any other funding support.Happily, a recent fresh injection of funding enabled the induction of 20 new community facilitators in September this year.The women who took part represent all four main traditional authorities.Among the trainees were the headwoman and other community members from the Masubia Traditional Authority, which is run solely by women.The WLC says there is a need to involve more men in their discussions.The WLC has a good rapport with traditional headmen and advisors and Mwiya says they plan to teach men about toxic masculinity and how that contributes to harmful cultural practices.Message“Feminism is the radical idea that women are human beings.”Mwiya shares this quote by women’s study professor Cheris Kramarae when asked what her message to Namibians is on the issue of women’s rights.“Often, even when men are allies, they will say ‘we should respect women because they are our mothers, sisters.’ I am not your mother, I am not your sister, I am a fellow human being, and this is why you should respect me. This is the fight for equality.”Siyunda urges women to keep on educating themselves about their rights, and she urges men to “love us the way we are, despite culture.”

Zambezi women find their voice

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-18

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Zambezi women find their voice

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-18

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