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Martha Akawa the Gender Politics of the Namibian Liberation Struggle (2014)

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Martha Akawa the Gender Politics of the Namibian Liberation Struggle (2014) The Gender Politics of the Namibian Liberation Struggle Gender Politics The Martha Akawa Women’s contributions against apartheid under the auspices of the Namibian liberation movement SWAPO and their personal experiences in exile take center stage in this study. Male and female leadership structures in exile are analysed whilst the sexual politics in the refugee camps and the public imagery of female representation in SWAPO’s nationalism receive special attention. The party’s pub- lic pronouncements of women empowerment and gender equality are compared Martha Akawa The Gender Politics Introduction by Bience Gawanas to the actual implementations of gender politics during and after the liberation struggle. of the Namibian “It is my contention that unless we rewrite history from a woman’s perspective and by ourselves, we will not have a complete recollection of our past and be in Liberation Struggle a position to negotiate a space on the independence agenda. Martha Akawa has made us aware of this responsibility and asks of us what legacy we as women Basel Namibia Studies Series 13 who fought in the liberation struggles will leave to future generations of women?” Advocate Bience Gawanas, Windhoek Martha Akawa obtained her PhD from the University of Basel (Switzerland) for the thesis which comprises this book. She is the Head of the Department of Geography, History and Environmental Studies at the University of Namibia in Windhoek. Basel Namibia Studies Series Basel Namibia Basler Afrika Bibliographien 2014 ISBN 978-3-905758-26-9 ISSN 2234-9561 BAB 13 The Gender Politics of the Namibian Liberation Struggle Basel Namibia Studies Series Basel Namibia Studies Series 1 Zedekia Ngavirue POLITICAL PARTIES AND INTEREST GROUPS IN SOUTH WEST AFRICA (NAMIBIA) A STUDY OF A PLURAL SOCIETY (1972) (1997) 2 Wolfgang Werner ‘NO ONE WILL BECOME RICH’. ECONOMY AND SOCIETY IN THE HERERO RE- SERVES IN NAMIBIA, 1915–1946 (1998) 3 Lauren Dobell Swapo̓’S Struggle for Namibia, 1960–1991: war by other meaNS. (1998) (2ND editioN 2000) 4 Tony Emmett POPULAR RESISTANCE AND THE ROOTS OF NATIONALISM IN NAMIBIA, 1915–1966 (1999) 5 James Suzman ‘THINGS FROM THE BUSH’. A CONTEMPORARY HISTORY OF THE OMAHEKE BUSH- meN (2000) 6 William Heuva media aNd reSiStaNce politicS. the alterNative preSS iN Namibia, 1960– 1990 (2001) 7 Marion Wallace health, power aNd politicS iN wiNdhoek, Namibia, 1915–1945 (2002) 8/9 Lovisa T. Nampala; Vilho Shigwedha AAWAMBO KINGDOMS, HISTORY AND CULTURAL CHANGE. perSpectiveS from NortherN Namibia (2006) 10 Bennett Kangumu CONTESTING CAPRIVI. A HISTORY OF COLONIAL ISOLATION AND REGIONAL NatioNaliSm iN Namibia (2011) 11 Inge Tvedten “AS LONG AS THEY DON’T BURY ME HERE”. SOCIAL RELATIONS OF POVERTY IN A NamibiaN ShaNtytowN (2011) 12 Julie J. Taylor NAMING THE LAND. SAN IDENTITY AND COMMUNITY CONVERSATION IN NAMIBIA'S weSt caprivi (2012) 13 Martha Akawa the geNder politicS of the NamibiaN liberatioN Struggle (2014) 14 Lorena Rizzo GENDER AND COLONIALISM. A HISTORY OF KAOKO IN NORTH-WESTERN NAMIBIA, 1870S–1950S (2012) MARTHA AKAWA Preface by Bience Gawanas The Gender Politics of the Namibian Liberation Struggle Basel Namibia Studies Series 13 Basler Afrika Bibliographien 2014 The publication of this book has been kindly supported by the Basel University Dissertation Fund. © 2014 Authors and Photographers © 2014 Basler Afrika Bibliographien Namibia Resource Centre & Southern Africa Library Klosterberg 23 PO Box 2037 CH 4051 Basel Switzerland www.baslerafrika.ch All rights reserved. Efforts were made to trace the copyright holders of the illustrations and the map used in this publication. We apologise for any incomplete or incorrect acknowledgements. Cover photograph: “Female People’s Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN) commanders at a SWAPO Woman’s Council rally in Lubango, Angola. 1988”. Published by SWAPO Woman’s Council: “Viva! Namibian women in the struggle”. Windhoek, 1994, p. 6. Photographer: Joseph Nekaya. Basic Cover Design: VischerVettiger Basel Adapted Cover Design: Petra Kerckhoff Layout: Jos Thorne ISBN 978–3–905758–50–4 ISSN 2297–458X Contents Preface by Advocate Bience Gawanas xi Acknowledgements xv Introduction 1 Researching gender politics 4 Structure of the book 4 Methodology and notes on sources 6 Oral sources 6 Primary sources 8 Secondary sources 9 Themes and debates 10 Oral sources 10 Women and the war of liberation 12 Women and the military 14 The roles and status of African women in pre- and colonial societies 16 Female bodies: Sites of violence 20 A comparative glance at the question of sexual abuse and sexuality in the situation of war 21 Camp experiences: Inclusions and exclusions 23 Feminism vs. liberation/emancipation of women in African national liberation movements 26 The aftermath: Women after the liberation struggle 27 1. “There can be no national liberation without 29 the full participation of women”: The role and position of women in the liberation struggle The people’s war 34 Periodisation of the liberation struggle: The political environment 35 1970–1978 36 1979–1979 37 Mobilisation inside the country: Rallying women, women at rallies 37 “Who do they think SWAPOs are?”: Provision of assistance to SWAPO 41 “Beware of your political preferences”: Consequences 45 “A woman’s place is in the struggle”: The role played by women in exile 48 The establishment of the SWAPO Women’s Council 49 Mobilisation in exile 51 Platforms and Media 54 International conferences and networking 54 Meetings in the settlements 55 10 December and 8 March 56 “The Namibian woman” 57 Sisterhood and Solidarity 57 The role of women in the settlements/camps 60 Caring of the young ones 60 Nursing 60 Food production 61 Manufacturing and studying 61 Sisters in arms: Women in the military wing 61 Summary 64 2. Idealised struggle? Public and Visual 66 Representations of Women Heroines and Legends: (Re-)presenting the women leaders and icons of the struggle 67 Kakurukaze Mungunda 68 Meekulu Putuse Appolus 69 Dr Libertina Inaviposa Amathila 71 Pendukeni Kaulinge 72 Penny Hilite Hashoongo 73 Angela Yvone Davis 74 Inclusion and exclusion 76 “This is what we stand for”: Public declarations by SWAPO’s male and female leadership 76 Liberated zones 82 The politics of gendered bodies and symbolic representations 84 Mothers of the nation 89 The face of repression 92 Floggings 92 Kassinga Massacre 94 Rape – A strategy for repression 97 Rauna Nambinga 98 Lucia Hamutenya 100 Ida Jimmy 100 The visual liberation of women 101 The legacy of the war 103 Victims, perpetrators or actors? 106 Summary 106 3. Women and the SWAPO Refugee Camps 107 The history of the camps 108 Arrival at a camp 110 Structures and infrastructures 111 A normal day in a camp 113 Normality against all odds 115 Threats and challenges 117 Attacks 117 Lack of basic necessities 117 Access to positions of leadership and control 118 Helplessness and despair 119 Reminiscences: The good old days 119 Comradeship 120 “SWAPO was our mother and our father” 120 “We left those issues here and found them when we got back to Namibia” 121 Summary 123 4. Sexual Politics in the Camps 124 Shifting sexuality patterns in Namibia 124 Polygamy and the colonial state 127 Definitions of rape and sexual abuse 129 Circumstances under which rape and sexual abuse were committed against women 131 The trips between Namibia and the host country 131 “Ondjolo”: Goodies for sex 132 “No comrade says ‘no’ to another comrade” 135 “Rape? I do not know what you are talking about” 137 One hand washes the other 140 Controlling female sexuality: No foreign men 141 Some relationships were genuine 144 The position of SWAPO regarding rape and sexual abuse 145 Disciplinary measures and structures 146 Attitudes towards polygamy in post-independent Namibia 149 Momeya iha mu inyenge mwaana okapuka 153 Summary 153 5. Education and Training 155 Education and training in apartheid Namibia 155 Education in exile 159 Pre-school education 160 Formal education 160 Secondary education 161 Upper Secondary Education 161 The Namibia Secondary Technical School in Loudima 161 Vocational training 162 Tertiary education, scholarships and institutions of Higher Learning 162 The United Nations Institute for Namibia 162 International university and scholarships 163 Informal education: Adult education programmes and skill development 166 Women’s programmes 166 Nutrition and childcare 167 Tailoring, weaving and knitting projects 167 Teaching materials and content 168 Feminist-oriented education 169 Family planning 169 The relationship between education, development, employment, power sharing and equal relations 171 Liberation of women through education 173 Gender equality and family relations 175 Summary 176 6. “All has not been won. Not everything has been lost”: 177 Women in post-independent Namibia Formal equality 178 Substantive equality 178 From a Women’s Desk to a fully-fledged ministry 178 National policies and documents 179 Various national commitments 180 International agreements 180 Law and policy reform on gender 180 Non-governmental organizations and civil society 182 The struggle continues 183 Power-sharing and decision-making at the political level 183 Power-sharing and decision-making at the political level 185 Power-sharing and decision-making at the household level 187 Education for all 187 Women and employment 189 Women and the land 190 Gender-based violence 190 “You are your own liberators” 191 Summary 193 Epilogue 195 Abbreviations 199 List of Illustrations and Map 201 Bibliography 203 Archives 203 Literature 204 Internet sources 217 Interview participants 217 Index 219 Basel Namibia Studies Series In 1997, P. Schlettwein Publishing (PSP) launched the Basel Namibia Studies Series. Its primary aim was to lend support to a new generation of research, scholars and readers emerging with the independence of Namibia in 1990. Initially, the book series published crucially important doctoral theses on Namibian his- tory. It soon expanded to include more recent political, anthropological, media and cultural history studies by Namibian scholars.
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