The German Embassy Chargée d’Affaires a.i. Ellen Gölz and Immacullate Mogotsi, Sister Namibia Board of Trustee Chairperson, today signed a funding agreement on Sister Namibia’s project “Women on the Front Line: A feminist communications project promoting awareness, advocacy and access to information”. The German Government supports this human rights project with 702,694 Namibian Dollars (approx. 36,500 Euros). The project primarily seeks to shine a light on and address gendered inequalities (with focused attention on safety, security and health) in Namibia which have been heightened by Covid-19.

After signing the agreement, Immacullate Mogotsi said: “Sister Namibia is one of a handful of women’s rights organizations that can apply a feminist lens to the policy and media landscapes in Namibia and, through this project, we will be able to focus our attention on doing just that! We are hoping that we can promote the rights and dignity of women by making visible the realities and inequalities Namibian women are facing during this pandemic and generally, while offering support and information which can assist women in ways that will see better health and community outcomes.”

Identify, discuss and navigate critical issues

Over the next 12 months, high quality media publications on feminism will be made available across all Sister Namibia’s media and community engagement platforms. Providing access to information that will assist women in finding safe spaces to identify, discuss and navigate critical issues and to access relevant government and community-based services. The feminist media publication will focus on thematic areas that are of interest to women such as sexual and reproductive health, abortion and Pro-Choice, prevention of GBV etc.

The awareness and advocacy aspects of the project aim to take advantage of the increased online life and digital communities that COVID-19 regulations have brought to the lives of Namibians and will have a national reach. Artist activations and collaborations with talents interested in the feminist movement are to stimulate further engagement and activism. People working in the arts are particularly hard hit by the closure of galleries, theatres, concert venues and cancellation of events.

Background information:

Sister Namibia is a feminist non-governmental organization based in Windhoek, Namibia. Sister Namibia was founded in 1989 on the eve of Namibia’s independence to give women a voice in the building of a democratic post-colonial society. The organisation works to raise awareness among women, men and young people of the ways in which political, social, cultural, legal and economic systems of power control and oppress girls and women.

Sister Namibia is evolving with the times, having started off with its flagship, the Sister Namibia magazine and a resource centre. Sister Namibia has always strived to represent and ensure that the voices and stories of women are heard and told.

The protection and promotion of human rights are key priorities for the Federal Republic of Germany. Article 1 of Germany’s Basic Law describes human rights as the basis of every community, of peace and of justice in the world. The German Government therefore is committed to promoting human dignity and to protecting fundamental freedoms not only in Germany but throughout the world.

To this end, the German Federal Foreign Office provides funds for various projects supporting the protection of human rights all over the world.