COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN CONCLUDES CONSIDERATION OF NAMIBIA'S INITIAL REPORT

11 July 1997

Press Release
WOM/982

COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN CONCLUDES CONSIDERATION OF NAMIBIA'S INITIAL REPORT

19970711 Experts Commend Government's Achievements within Seven Years of Independence

As the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women this morning heard Namibia's response to questions posed by experts on its initial report, it was told that the Parliament of that country was considering a resolution which would set a time-frame for action on violence against women.

Such an initiative would cover both sexual offences and domestic violence, the Director-General, Department of Women's Affairs, Office of the President of Namibia, said.

Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah also informed the Committee that the under- representation of women in decision-making positions in Namibia was due to a culture which kept women, well-educated or not, in the kitchen. Further, prior to the enactment of the Married Persons Equality Act, married women could not undertake jobs without their husband's consent.

Namibia's report was presented to the Committee, which is the monitoring body for the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, under article 18 of the Convention, which requires States parties to submit reports within one year after accession, and thereafter at least every four years. Reports are to focus on legislative, judicial and administrative measures adopted by States to give effect to the Convention's provisions. The Committee reviews those reports and formulates general recommendations.

In their final comments on the report, experts expressed appreciation for the replies offered by Namibia and commended the Government for its achievements within seven years of independence. They hoped that Namibia's second periodic report would be even more enlightening. Further, they offered the Committee's solidarity and support to the Government's efforts to eradicate discrimination against women.

The Committee also heard from a representative of the Legal Assistance Centre of Namibia, who said that the involvement of non-governmental organizations in the preparation of the Namibia report was typical of the

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manner in which non-governmental organizations and the Government cooperated. It was not "window dressing" and while the Government and non-governmental organizations did not always see eye-to-eye, the fact that such consultations took place was "a healthy sign".

Also this morning, the Chairperson of the pre-session working group, Aurora Javate de Dios of the Philippines, introduced the report of that working group.

The Committee will meet again at 3 p.m. today to hear Luxembourg's response to experts questions on its first and second periodic reports.

Reply by Namibia to Experts' Questions on Initial Report

NETUMBO NANDI-NDAITWAH, Director-General, Department of Women's Affairs, Office of the President of Namibia, said there was no conflict between the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and her country's Constitution. Customary law in force at the time of independence remained valid only to the extent that it did not conflict with the Constitution in any way. So far, there had been no challenges to customary law on the ground that it violated the constitutional guarantees of gender equality. In order to prepare for changes in laws, the Government engaged in public mobilization through the media, public meetings, hearings and used the support from sympathetic traditional leaders.

In terms of the factors responsible for people's preference, on some occasions, for traditional authorities and courts, she said such courts provided compensation in cases of stock theft while the civil courts usually did not provide compensation for the victim. The distances of the civil courts as well as their association in some people's mind with the old apartheid regime were other reasons for a preference for traditional courts. Further, both men and women might face strong cultural pressure to follow traditional customs. Commenting on women's ability to bring legal action, she said until the Married Persons Equality Act was passed, women who were subject to the marital power needed their husband's permission to institute most kinds of legal action. That restriction had now been wholly removed.

Responding to a question on whether a national policy had been adopted on the future implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, she said that had not happened as yet. The first step would be to finalize the national gender policy. That would be followed by a national programme of action on the implementation of the Beijing Platform. However, the Government had picked up specific areas which it had identified as crucial and the Division for the Advancement of Women had been informed of that.

In response to a query about law reform on violence against women, she said the Parliament was considering a resolution which would set a time-frame for action on violence against women. The initiative covered both sexual offenses and domestic violence. Answering a question on why a special defence was provided for young boys engaging in sexual activity with prostitutes under the Combating of Immoral Practices Act, she said that provision had already been identified by the Government as one that must be changed.

On the subject of forced sexual intercourse, she said women under customary law were some times pressured to enter marriages with relatives following the death of their husband. However, that was not the same as forced sexual intercourse. With respect to affirmative action, ministries were still finalizing a proposal for new legislation which targeted women,

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disabled and formerly disadvantaged groups. There were no specific affirmative action provisions for providing credit to women.

Responding to questions on the "Miss Universe" contest organized in Namibia in 1995, she said there had been little organized protest to the event from non-governmental organizations. The Government had viewed the project as an investment in terms of tourism and international publicity from which women could also benefit.

Answering a question on whether there were any special programmes directed at women at high risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases, she said there was no special programme but there was an intense general campaign by the Government and NGOs to spread information on the topic. On a question about the existence of measures to promote women in the legal profession, she said there were no such measures at present but it was an area that could be looked into. On the effect of having a woman as Ombudsman, she said there had been a noticeable increase in the number of female visitors to the Office, not to complain per se but to seek advice on a wide range of matters, including rights within marriage. Further, the Ombudsman was engaged in country-wide outreach activities targeting women's groups to encourage women to approach the Office.

In response to a question on reasons for the under-representation of women in decision-making positions, she said that was due to a culture in both white and black communities in Namibia, which kept women in the kitchen, whether well educated or not. Further, before the enactment of the Married Persons Equality Act, married women could not become directors of companies without the consent of their husbands. Responding to a question on whether there were incentives to encourage parents to keep daughters in school, she said there were programmes to encourage parents to reduce the workload of both boys and girls. On the question of availability of child care facilities, she said the absence of such facilities was sometimes an obstacle to women's participation in the workforce. However, women did not always use such facilities even when they were available. That could be due to cost or due to a preference for leaving children with the extended family.

On discrimination against women in the labour market, she said some employers still asked women in job interviews if they were pregnant or intended to be, even though such questions were illegal in terms of the current law. Turning to the area of health and responding to questions on the high incidence of tuberculosis, she said HIV/AIDS, poor socio-economic status, poor ventilation, malnutrition and alcoholism were the reasons. On the integration of population education in the school curricula, she said it was moving forward with the support of United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Speaking on the question of son preference, she said while there was a son

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preference in some communities, in general families preferred a balance. Most women did not know the sex of their foetus before birth.

On the high incidence of polygamy, she said the statistic cited in the report had come from the 1992 Demographic Health Survey. It seemed unusually high and a need was felt now to re-examine the underlying basis for it. However, cultural influences on polygamy were stronger than religious influences. Even though polygamy was contrary to Christian teachings, the churches had not placed a strong emphasis on it. In that context, the Married Persons Equality Act did not address the issue of polygamy. The subject of polygamy was sensitive because it was part of culture, which was a tradition in the same way as religion, and just as hard to change.

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