WINDHOEK – The Namibian Non-Governmental Organisation Forum (Nangof), in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is going to engage traditional authorities and leaders in Namibia to address gender-based violence (GBV) and harmful cultural practices in rural communities.
Sandie Tjaronda, the Nangof Trust chairperson disclosed this when he addressed traditional leaders at the 17th annual meeting of the Council of Traditional Leaders themed “Traditional Leaders Against Gender-Based Violence”, which ends today.
He said that the goal of the project is to strengthen linkages between civil society organisations and traditional communities, generate and share information on GBV, strengthen prevention and response to sexual violence, engage new partners to address bottlenecks to public services and expand leadership structures.
“It is only you, the honourable traditional leaders who interact with the majority of our citizens and who know their living conditions. You know their suffering, share in their pain and sorrow and will always be called on to preside over all their conflicts and disagreements that come from their bedrooms,” he said.
Tjaronda said that GBV is a power relation issue that needs to be unmasked as it is disturbing to note that one third of Namibian men feel that wife beating or bashing is a justifiable act, which is also compounded by some women believing that beating and jealousy are a sign of love.
Furthermore, he said they could work together with traditional leaders to reverse harmful belief systems that put criminals in an advantageous position and innocent citizens in a position of compromise.
“It is within this context that we are convinced the Council of Traditional Leaders is relevant and strategically placed as the centre to provide guidance on how to deal with gender-based violence given the centrality of the traditional leaders in upholding the rule of law,” he added.
Tjaronda reckoned that promulgation of laws such as the Married Persons Equality Act of 1996, Criminal Procedure Act of 1997 and 2004, Combating of Rape Act of 2000 and the Combating of Domestic Violence Act of 2003 have been some of the milestones to prevent and deter escalating crimes, but the legal instruments have not delivered the desired results.
“I believe by engaging traditional leaders in this matter, our efforts will soon yield positive results in effectively bringing this issue under control,” he said.