It is really both a privilege and a delight to have this opportunity of being here at the Southern African Regional Workshop on the Situation of Gend… - Angelika Muharukua

As children, they suffer discrimination within their own family, which is followed by a lack of opportunity in education and training. As young women, they suffer the consequences of their lower levels of literacy, education, legal understanding, confidence and awareness by finding only poorly paid jobs that require a low level of skill. As young mothers, they put up with their lack of financial autonomy and free time to honour their family commitments. Constrained by their reproductive role, when they return to part-time employment after a period of motherhood, they frequently experience what is known as downward occupational mobility, and get stuck in lower-grade positions.

When we come up with programmes aimed at raising awareness on gender equality, it is imperative that we take cognisance of directing these programmes at men: most of them have misunderstood the concept of equality, either intentionally or through ignorance. The idea of the male breadwinner and the female homemaker is still dominant in many societies – and southern Africa is no exception.

If you look at the situation in South Africa, Namibia is better off but if we are not careful we will end up like them and we know how it happened there,