General Statistics | |
---|---|
Maternal mortality (per 100,000) | 195 (2017) |
Women in parliament | 44.2% (2021) |
Women over 25 with secondary education | 39.9% |
Women in labour force | 58.5% (2017) |
Gender Inequality Index [1] | |
Value | 0.445 (2021) |
Rank | 111st out of 191 |
Global Gender Gap Index [2] | |
Value | 0.807 (2022) |
Rank | 8th out of 146 |
Women in Namibia face challenges in their health, gender based violence, and access to education. The government of Namibia is taking steps to provide women with equal rights to a degree that is largely unparalleled in Sub-Saharan Africa, including the promise of gender equality and increased parliament representation in the Namibian constitution. [3] [4] Women currently serve in nearly half of all seats in parliament and the first female Prime Minister was elected in 2015. [5]
HIV/AIDS is largely prevalent within Namibia. HIV-related deaths reached its peak in 2004, when 12,000 people died, but has since declined to around 2,900 deaths in 2021. [6]
The socioeconomic status of women remains a significant indicator of HIV status. [7] Of the poorest women in Namibia, the HIV prevalence rate is at 21.4%, compared to the richest households with an HIV prevalence rate of 3.7%. [7]
Large strides have been made in the last decade to decrease the rate of maternal mortality in Namibia. In 2017, maternal mortality was at a rate of 195 deaths per 100,000 live births, down from 358 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2004. [8] Life expectancy of women in Namibia has also improved. In 2020, the female life expectancy was 67 years, a large gap from 53 years in 2004. [9]
The nation's 1990 constitution guarantees women equal protection under law and prohibits gender discrimination. [10] [11] Although unprecedented for its time, there is much to be done to close the gender gap between men and women in Namibia.
Domestic violence remains a large concern in Namibia. On average 26.7% of Namibian women between ages 15–49 have experienced domestic and/or sexual violence at least once, with 52% of these women aged 15–19. [12]
Namibia outlawed marital rape in 2000. [13]
The nation's 1990 constitution guarantees women equal protection under law and prohibits gender discrimination. [14] [15]
Within the past decade, Namibia has seen increased pushes for the representation of women in parliament. In 2004, women constituted 29% of all parliament members, placing Namibia at seventeenth in the world for female representation in parliament. [16] In 2014, the South West Africa People's Organisation introduced a policy committing to filling half of its seats in parliament with women, in addition to a "zebra" system in which a male prime minister would have a female deputy minister and vice versa. [4] As of 2021, 44% of the Namibian parliament has seats filled by women. [5]
In March 2015, Saara Kuugongelwa was appointed as Prime Minister of Namibia, making her the first woman to serve as Namibian Prime Minister. [17]