Namibia

Citation:

Nakanyete, Ndapwea F., Romie V. Nghitevelekwa, Mark M. Matsa, John Mendelsohn, Selma Lendelvo, and Fanuel Shikale. 2020. “Communal Land Tenure Security for Widows in the Eenhana Constituency of the Ohangwena Region, Namibia.” Journal of International Women's Studies 21 (1): 131–47.

Authors: Ndapewa Fenny Nakanyete, Romie Vonkie Nghitevelekwa, Mark M. Matsa, John Mendelsohn, Selma Lendelvo, Fanuel Shikale

Abstract:

Namibia is characterized by a history of discriminatory customary practices against women with regards to access to land, rights over land, and security of land tenure. Since independence in 1990, the country has adopted policies and legislative frameworks to bring about gender equality in all spheres of life, including the transformation of land tenure rights. These policies and acts give effect to the constitutional provisions that accord both men and women equal opportunities for access to land, rights over land and security of tenure. Widows are a particularly singled-out social group for legal protection, land security and rights to land enjoyed during their spouses’ lifetimes, and are granted protection, at least on paper, from discriminatory practices such as unlawful land evictions. This article evaluates and analyses the current status of land tenure security for widows in the Eenhana Constituency of the Ohangwena Region in Namibia. The study employed both quantitative and qualitative methods through questionnaires, interviews and focus group discussions with widows, as well as key informant interviews with Communal Land Board representatives, members of the traditional authorities, as well as the Ministry of Land Reform’s regional office officials. Through this case study, the findings establish that even though Namibia acclaims progressive policies and legislative frameworks on gender equality, there are still pockets of discrimination against widows where they continue to be at risk of losing their land rights in some of Namibia’s communal areas. Addressing the land tenure insecurities and a guarantee of legal land rights for widows is key to reducing vulnerabilities within female-headed households in the communal areas. Traditional authorities remain a key governance structure in communal areas, particularly in relation to access to land, and land rights inheritance issues, amongst others. Similarly, the Communal Land Boards are statutory institutions mandated to ensure implementation of the provisions of the Communal Land Reform Act of 2002, including the protection of land rights for widows. The study therefore recommends three main measures: the removal of all forms of discriminatory customary practices against widows; continued awareness-raising initiatives on the rights of widows; and full implementation of legal provisions for the protection of widows’ land rights and security of tenure.

Keywords: widows, communal land, security, land tenure, land rights, inheritance, rural area, Namibia

Topics: Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Governance, Post-Conflict Governance, Intersectionality, Land Tenure, Rights, Land Rights, Security Regions: Africa, Southern Africa Countries: Namibia

Year: 2020

Citation:

Graham, Jay P., Mitsuaki Hirai, and Seung-Sup Kim. 2016. “An Analysis of Water Collection Labor among Women and Children in 24 Sub-Saharan African Countries.” PLOS ONE 11 (6): e0155981. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0155981.

Authors: Jay P. Graham, Mitsuaki Hirai, Seung-Sup Kim

Abstract:

Background

It is estimated that more than two-thirds of the population in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) must leave their home to collect water, putting them at risk for a variety of negative health outcomes. There is little research, however, quantifying who is most affected by long water collection times.

Objectives

This study aims to a) describe gender differences in water collection labor among both adults and children (< 15 years of age) in the households (HHs) that report spending more than 30 minutes collecting water, disaggregated by urban and rural residence; and b) estimate the absolute number of adults and children affected by water collection times greater than 30 minutes in 24 SSA countries.

Methods

We analyzed data from the Demographic Health Survey (DHS) and the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) (2005–2012) to describe water collection labor in 24 SSA countries.

Results

Among households spending more than 30 minutes collecting water, adult females were the primary collectors of water across all 24 countries, ranging from 46% in Liberia (17,412 HHs) to 90% in Cote d’Ivoire (224,808 HHs). Across all countries, female children were more likely to be responsible for water collection than male children (62% vs. 38%, respectively). Six countries had more than 100,000 households (HHs) where children were reported to be responsible for water collection (greater than 30 minutes): Burundi (181,702 HHs), Cameroon (154,453 HHs), Ethiopia (1,321,424 HHs), Mozambique (129,544 HHs), Niger (171,305 HHs), and Nigeria (1,045,647 HHs).

Conclusion

In the 24 SSA countries studied, an estimated 3.36 million children and 13.54 million adult females were responsible for water collection in households with collection times greater than 30 minutes. We suggest that accessibility to water, water collection by children, and gender ratios for water collection, especially when collection times are great, should be considered as key indicators for measuring progress in the water, sanitation and hygiene sector.

Topics: Age, Youth, Gender, Women, Men, Girls, Boys, Health, Infrastructure, Water & Sanitation, Livelihoods Regions: Africa, Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa Countries: Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Côte D'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Sao Tome & Principe, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Swaziland, Zimbabwe

Year: 2016

Citation:

Akawa, Martha, and Bience Gawanas. 2014. The Gender Politics of the Namibian Liberation Struggle. Basel Namibia Studies Series 13. Basel, Switzerland: Basler Afrika Bibliographien.

Authors: Martha Akawa, Bience Gawanas

Annotation:

Contents

Preface by Advocate Bience Gawanas

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. "There can be no national liberation without the full participation of women": The role and position of women in the liberation struggle

2. Idealized struggle? Public and Visual Representations of Women

3. Women and the SWAPO Refugee Camps

4. Sexual Politics in the Camps

5. Education and Training

6. "All has not been won. Not everything has been lost": Women in post-independent Namibia

Epilogue

Abbreviations

List of Illustrations and Maps

Bibliography

Index

Topics: Armed Conflict, Displacement & Migration, Refugees, Gender, Femininity/ies, Political Participation, Sexual Violence, Rape, Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, Sexuality, Violence Regions: Africa, Southern Africa Countries: Namibia

Year: 2014

Citation:

McCullers, Molly. 2011. “’We Do It So That We Will Be Men’: Masculinity Politics in Colonial Namibia, 1915-1949.” Journal of African History 52 (1): 43-62. 

Author: Molly McCullers

Abstract:

This article examines struggles for masculinity among Herero elders, South African colonial administrators, and the Otruppa, a Herero youth society that appropriated a German military aesthetic, in Namibia between 1915 and 1949. As previous scholars have argued, masculinities are mutually constituted through competitions for authority, though dominance is rarely achieved. Such contestations were integral to processes of Herero societal reconstruction following German rule and during South African colonial state formation, beginning in 1915. Different generational experiences of colonial violence and the destruction of the material resources that undergirded elders' authority led to conflicts between elders and youths over how to define Herero masculinity and negotiate authority in a rapidly changing colonial milieu.

Topics: Age, Youth, Armed Conflict, Coloniality/Post-Coloniality, Gender, Boys, Masculinity/ies, Gendered Power Relations, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Militarism, Violence Regions: Africa, Southern Africa Countries: Namibia

Year: 2011

Citation:

Ballington, Julie, ed. 2004. The Implementation of Quotas: African Experiences. Stockholm: The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance.

Author: Julie Ballington

Abstract:

This report examines women’s political representation on the African continent, and shows how quotas have contributed to increasing women’s access to political power. Gender quotas are now increasingly viewed as an important policy measure for boosting women’s access to decision-making bodies throughout the world. Experience from Africa is very encouraging: over 20 countries on the continent either have legislated quotas or political parties that have adopted them voluntarily. This report illustrates the different quota types that are being implemented in different political contexts.

The report includes 17 regional and country case studies. The country case studies include Egypt, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Uganda. (IDEA)

Topics: Gender, Women, Governance, Quotas, Political Participation Regions: Africa, MENA, Central Africa, East Africa, North Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa Countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda

Year: 2004

Citation:

Kleinbooi, Karin. 2013. “Reshaping Women’s Land Rights on Communal Rangeland.” African Journal of Range & Forage Science 30 (1-2): 17–21.

Author: Karin Kleinbooi

Abstract:

This paper aims to contribute to the debates on communal rangelands and analyses the gendered dimension of land rights and land access in the rural areas of Namaqualand. The actual gender relations within rural communities and the emergence of strategies that are being pursued in communal land processes are obscured and often ignored in policies about communal rangelands, which overemphasise ‘the ecological and economic impact’ and the balancing of these dimensions. As active, primary users, women play a central role in livelihoods supported by communal rangelands yet their access to land is mediated through their relationships with men, effectively circumventing women's land autonomy. A wider debate is necessary to advance the largely superficial policy considerations of women's position in relation to communal rangelands land and their social exclusion on the basis of traditional control of land, forms of access and claiming of use rights. The paper discusses the complexity of land rights under communal land tenure and argues that, despite traditional and policy barriers, women in traditional systems of male-dominated land rights have had some success in accessing communal rangelands. Greater policy impetus is necessary to leverage equitable and independent land access for women amidst debates about management of communal rangelands.

Topics: Gender, Gendered Power Relations, Land Tenure, Livelihoods, Political Economies, Rights, Land Rights, Women's Rights Regions: Africa, Southern Africa Countries: Namibia, South Africa

Year: 2013

Citation:

Odendaal, Willem. 2001. “The Men Against Violence Against Women Movement in Namibia.” Development 44 (3): 90-93.

Author: Willem Odendaal

Abstract:

Willem Odendaal illustrates the experience of The Men Against Violence Against Women Campaign in Namibia, initiated by concerned Namibian men to combat violence against women (VAW). The National Conference on Men Against Violence Against Women in Namibia, held in February 2000, brought men from all walks of life in Namibia together to develop strategies of how men in Namibia can sensitize fellow men to the problem of VAW. The Namibian Men for Change (NAMEC) was brought into life after the National Conference. NAMEC functions as an awareness-raising group among young adult men on issues such as masculinity, relationships, parenthood, sexual abuse and the creation of a non-violent culture in Namibia. Despite its lack of financial resources, NAMEC has already achieved a significant degree of awareness raising during its brief period of existence. The organization is currently active in most of Namibia’s regions, where its members visit schools and organize a range of forums for discussions amongst men.

Topics: Gender, Women, Men, Masculinity/ies, Gender-Based Violence, Households, Nonviolence, Sexual Violence Regions: Africa, Southern Africa Countries: Namibia

Year: 2001

Citation:

Lindeke, William A., and Winnie Wanzala. 1994. “Regional Elections in Namibia: Deepening Democracy and Gender Inclusion.” Africa Today 41 (3): 5–14.

Authors: William A. Lindeke, Winnie Wanzala

Topics: Democracy / Democratization, Gender, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Governance, Elections, Political Participation Regions: Africa, Southern Africa Countries: Namibia

Year: 1994

Citation:

Olsson, Louise. 2001. “Gender Mainstreaming in Practice: The United Nations Transitional Assistance Group in Namibia.” International Peacekeeping 8 (2) 97-110.

Author: Louise Olsson

Abstract:

The process of developing a policy for gender-adapted, or mainstreamed, multidimensional peacekeeping operations has been slow in the UN. By 1989, the UN operation in Namibia, United Nations Transitional Assistance Group (UNTAG), had already started to develop practices for gender mainstreaming of the civilian sector of the operation. UNTAG's civilian component was fairly gender balanced and some of the UN civilian staff were adapting their work in order to reach both women and men in the Namibian population. This contribution discusses the lessons that could have been learned about gender mainstreaming in the Namibian case and on which a contemporary UN gender mainstreaming policy could have been based. This concerns methods of increasing female UN staff, mobilizing local women to vote, incorporation of issues of equality in the constitution, and the importance of leadership in enhancing equality and equity.

Keywords: gender mainstreaming, Namibia, UNTAG

Topics: Gender, Gender Mainstreaming, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Gender Equity, Governance, Constitutions, International Organizations, Peacekeeping Regions: Africa, Southern Africa Countries: Namibia

Year: 2001