Essay On Swapo In Namibia

Namibia women played an important part in gaining independence for Namibia in 1989. During the war against South African forces, women and children in the North remained at home. In the Northern war zone, the dominate population was women in children. Over the time of the war there were many accounts of brutality and rape to both women and children. South African forces would even try to trick children into setting off hidden explosives by using coke cans and coins to lure them over. There was a night curfew in place in which planes and helicopters would shoot anyone seen after 5 o’clock. Accusations of women and children about their association with SWAPO led to even harsher brutality. The article makes a point to share the stories of women but to take not women are not to be portrayed as victims. Women were not powerless and many women contributed to the resistance against the South African forces. Women’s aid in resistance was a huge contributing factor to the war against South African forces. Women in Namibia could not avoid the war and many did not

SWAPO Women’s Council pressured the integration in all areas of SWAPO because they believed being involved in all levels of the war were important to equality and success of the war. The women who were involved in combat received the same training as the men and were not restricted to certain levels of SWAPO. When PLAN was formed in 1966 which proceeded with the Angola’s freedom thus opening up the Northern border to give PLAN access to Angola. PLAN was able to use Angola as a base. Women and men equally participated in PLAN because SWAPO included an equality policy for women. Young women wanted to wait on their education just to be able to fight with everyone else. Women had to wait until they were nineteen to participate in the war. The women and men wore the same uniform and all tasks were performed without sexism becoming