Renthia Kaimbi
President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah said gender-based violence is a violation of human dignity and a betrayal of the nation’s liberation values.
She said the country can’t claim to honour human rights while women continue to live in fear.
“Our nation cannot claim to honour human rights while its mothers, sisters, and daughters continue to live in fear,” she said, calling for safety, respect, and full legal protection for all women.
She delivered her message as Namibia marked International Human Rights Day and Namibian Women’s Day, observed under the theme “Human Rights: Our Everyday Essentials.”
She emphasised the close link between human rights and women’s empowerment, making the two commemorations inseparable.
Nandi-Ndaitwah said the day reaffirmed Namibia’s commitments at home and abroad.
She highlighted the government’s work to protect the rights of the elderly, indigenous communities, and persons with disabilities.
She pointed to policies in education and accessible healthcare as foundations of dignity.
“Human rights are not abstract. They shape how we govern, how we serve, and how we treat each other as equals,” she said.
Nandi-Ndaitwah called for action to address youth unemployment and child labour, saying progress remains incomplete while any Namibian lives on the margins.
She also expressed solidarity with people facing oppression in Gaza, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Sudan and Western Sahara.
The commemoration of Namibian Women’s Day also honoured the leadership of Namibian women across generations.
Nandi-Ndaitwah said women were organisers, mobilisers, and protectors during the liberation struggle, and they continue to lead in policymaking, business, and politics.
“Namibia’s democracy is rooted in the strength, steadfastness and clarity of purpose demonstrated by its women over generations,” she said.
Khomas governor Sam Nujoma led the joint commemoration at the Old Location cemetery.
He said the Universal Declaration of Human Rights provided the moral framework for the fight against apartheid.
“The global language of human rights gave legitimacy to our cause… a struggle for the restoration of humanity itself,” he said.
Nujoma said the fight now extends to the digital space, where online violence against women and girls has become a new form of rights abuse.
He linked Namibian Women’s Day to the 1959 Old Location Uprising and honoured the women who led that resistance. He paid tribute to Anna Kakurukaze Mungunda, the only woman who died on 10 December 1959, and recognised figures like Libertina Amadhila and Ellen Ndeshi Namhila for their roles as combatants, diplomats and mobilisers.
“Liberation was not the prophecy of fortune tellers, it was fought for, carried on the shoulders of courageous Namibian men and women,” he said.
Nujoma said Namibia’s high representation of women in parliament shows progress, but inequality remains visible.
He said economic divides in Windhoek show that true liberation still requires social and economic justice. He urged Namibians to carry forward the “unfinished work of liberation” and confront today’s injustices with the same courage shown in 1959.
He later laid wreaths at Heroes’ Acre in honour of the men and women who fought for human rights and independence.
United Nations secretary general António Guterres says the world is facing a growing erosion of fundamental rights and warned that civic space is shrinking as violations increase across regions.
Guterres said the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted nearly eighty years ago, laid the foundation for what every person needs to survive and thrive.
He described the declaration as a major philosophical and political breakthrough that continues to anchor the global community.
He emphasised that civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights are inalienable, indivisible, and interdependent, but he warned that recent years have revealed widespread disregard for these rights and growing indifference to human suffering.
Guterres said the international community must confront these injustices by protecting institutions that make human rights a lived reality.
“Together with civil society and governments, we deliver food and provide shelter; support education and elections; clear mines; defend the environment; empower women; and strive for peace.”
Economic or political interests must not overshadow rights, according to Guterres.
“Our rights should never take second place to profit or power. Let us unite to protect them, for the dignity and freedom of all,” he said.
Human Rights Day is observed every year on 10 December. It marks the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, one of the world’s most significant global commitments.
