Gender Equality and Child Welfare Minister Rosalia Nghidinwa says overcrowded conditions in shacks lead to many young children witnessing sexual acts and domestic violence.
Speaking to Namibian Sun yesterday, Nghidinwa said the influx of thousands of people from rural communities to urban areas in search of work results in “many negative things”.
“It is true that people want to come to the city to look for work, but this migration to towns eventually cause many people to live in overcrowded shacks because of lack of accommodation,” she said.
“Children and parents live together in the same small space and these children then get exposed to things such as sexual acts between their parents and even alcohol at an early age.”
She added that children also witness violence between their parents, as there is no privacy in a shack.
According to the minister, when young girls and boys witness “such kinds of things”, they are robbed of their innocence and their growth will be shaped by what they see throughout their childhood.
This inevitably leads to girls growing up and disrespecting their bodies, by sleeping around with different men, as they have not been raised to know that sex is a private act.
Young men, on the other hand, grow up to disrespect women and also with the mindset that violence is normal – having seen their fathers beat up their mothers.
Nghidinwa said people don’t have to move to urban areas when there is no work, but should rather come up with ideas for self-employment in their home regions.
They should also know that they have the right to demand services in rural areas - the same services they believe they can only access in urban areas.
She said her ministry is helping women in the regions with training and will establish more training centres by the end of next year.
These training centres in all the regions will ensure that women can be trained to be self-sufficient and enjoy economic independence.
She said organisations like Women’s Action for Development (WAD) have been instrumental in training women. These women, who have been equipped with different types of skills, are then able to go out and apply their new knowledge to start their own businesses.
“Women need to be empowered so that they don’t have to totally rely on men for everything. This also contributes to men thinking they own their women, and as such can do whatever they want with them, including beating them up and even raping and murdering them,” the minister said. Nghidinwa added that contrary to popular belief, violence against women and children is not only happening in black communities, but all races are suffering from the scourge of gender-based violence. “People think it is only black men who beat their women, but it’s the same story in other ethnic communities, and this is even worse because these people are suffering in silence.” “I want to urge people of all races to work together and contribute to the fight against violence toward women and children, both black and white,” said Nghidinwa.
