1.
To eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2.
To achieve universal primary education
3.
To promote gender equality and empower women
4.
To reduce child mortality
5.
To improve maternal health
6.
To combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
7.
To ensure environmental sustainability
8.
To develop a global partnership for development
Namibia admits it fell behind track on meeting its
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Although the Millennium Development Goals
are slightly outdated, and have been replaced by the Sustainable Development Goals
in 2016, the MDGs still offer insight into Namibia’s progress in social development.
With an average life expectancy of 64 years, and a poverty rate of 26.9 (in
2015) life for Namibians is very different than life in the United States. For
this blog post I wanted to focus on gender based social indicators, which I
believe will inform our travel to Namibia.
Complications during pregnancy and
childbirth are one of the leading causes of death and disability among
reproductive aged women in the developing world. In 2012, the worldwide
maternal mortality ratio was 232 per 100,000 live births. That means that
according to a government publication, Namibia, with a morality ratio of 200,
is better than average. However, the mortality ratios published by the Namibian
government don’t agree with the statistics published by the World Bank. This
could be due to discrepancies in how deaths are reported, and whether pregnancy
related deaths/disability are recorded. The Namibian government admits there is
progress to be made in infant, child, and maternal mortality rates.
Namibia’s constitution prohibits
sex discrimination, and the Namibian government seems proud of their gender
equality progress. The literacy rate among females is at 88% and more females
are enrolled in all levels of education than males. In local government, men
and women are equally represented. However, there is still much room for
progress. Less women are represented in the labor force, and in national
governance. But most importantly, woman still suffer under a patriarchal
culture, and gender-based violence is an epidemic in Namibia. One out of three
women in Namibia will experience gender-based violence in their lifetime. The
government has programs to try to combat gender based violence, such as a “zero
tolerance for GBV” initiative, but I haven’t really been able to find
statistics demonstrating the efficacy of these programs. Decreasing GBV is a
huge undertaking, and likely these initiatives will take years to make an impact.
--Christina
Sources:
https://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Project-and-Operations/2014-2018_-_Namibia_Country_Strategy_Paper.pdf
I'm curious how what these figures for women in local government/women's literacy/gender-based violence are in the US. It's also interesting the difference in the markers of gender equity you found for Namibia vs. the ones we tend to know for the US--like here, we tend to know the 79 cents to the dollar figure, but not the percentage of women in the city council. How do we choose what markers we use to measure equality? -Mini
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the constitutional prohibition of sex discrimination actually has significant effect on women's rights. There have recently been some Namibian articles that talk about the gender inequalities still prevalent, especially in rural areas. - Elizabeth
ReplyDelete