Ottilie Grete Abrahams (1937-2018)

 

“I will rest the day I die” used to say Ottilie Abrahams. For sure, this brilliant woman has been very active her whole life…

Ottilie Abrahams was born in the Old Location, in Windhoek, in 1937. She has always been passionate about education. For the people in her neighbourhood, getting a degree was something exceptional. Therefore, she said she went to university to show that “black people can achieve things, and also that a woman can achieve anything she really wants to achieve”.

She attended high school and university in Cape Town. During the 1950’s, she was a member of various organisations such as the South West African Student Body or the Non-European Unity Movement. In addition, she helped to raise funds for the studies of young Namibians and to create the first black newspaper, South West News. Finally, in 1962, she joined the Yu Chi Chan Club (which means guerrilla warfare in Chinese). It was a secret Maoist anti-apartheid organization preparing for the armed struggle against the South African government.

Ottilie Abrahams was one of the few, if not the only, woman in the leadership of those organizations. In fact, she was one of the small handful of Namibian women in exile.

When the Yu Chi Chan Club was uncovered, she and her husband Kenneth Abrahams returned to South West Africa and established the Rehoboth branch of SWAPO. She became Secretary for education in the SWAPO Executive Committee. However, the couple and other activists were expelled from the movement during the “Shinganga Rebellion”, as many members started to question undemocratic tendencies and corruption in the leadership. Wanted by the South African authorities in Namibia, the Abrahams fled to Zambia, and then to Sweden, after being held in Zambian prisons.

In 1978, the couple were granted political amnesty, returned to Namibia, and founded the SWAPO Democrats party, at a time where the South African administration was trying to find an ‘internal settlement’ to the ‘South West African’ problem. Ottilie Abrahams however left the SWAPO Democrats in 1980. She later joined the Namibia Independence Party, which was part of the Namibia National Front coalition (NNF), an alliance of moderate nationalist parties.

While being a member of these political organizations, she also participated in the founding of the Namibian Women’s Association (NAWA) in 1979. Ottilie Abrahams denounced the violent opposition of men, who sometimes beat their wives who attended NAWA meetings. It was only after the Independence and the Married Persons Equality Act that the association was really able to help women by providing legal advice to women seeking divorce.

In the meantime, Ottilie Abrahams focused on community development and especially on education projects. In 1985, she founded the Jacob Marengo Tutorial College, where she remained principal until her death. Her idea was to teach children critical thinking, participatory democracy and feminism to overcome the effects caused by a long reign of apartheid and patriarchy.

In 1993, Ottilie Abrahams developed the Affirmative Action for the Girl Child Project, which she presented during the 1995 Beijing World Conference on Women. Every holiday, more than 100 girls gather for training in project development and leadership. She also established the Namibian Girl Child Organisation, which has now 186 clubs across the country. Her idea was “to unite girls throughout Namibia, beyond tribalism and party politics, and to get girls involved in the solution of their own problems”.

In conclusion, Ottilie Abrahams was a heroine, a pioneer and a central figure in the women’s movement. However, she was, and we should also be, critical of this movement, claiming that there is too little collaboration between the different associations and not enough involvement of rural women. Women should try to play a greater role in the conduct of public affairs, even if they think they lack qualifications, because “if women commit themselves to a goal, they will be able to move mountains”. For Ottilie Abrahams, the struggle for liberation is thus far from over. In honour of her legacy, it is up to us to carry on her fight…

 

Sister Namibia tackles conflict

The month of May has been a busy one for Sister Namibia. Apart from preparing for our 25 birthday celebrations in June we have made great strides in advocating with the Namibian youth.On Saturday the 24th we had the great pleasure of visiting PAY (Physically Active Youth) to host a conflict  management forum in Katutura. The forum worked around the concept of good listening and communication skills as effective tools to avoid and resolve conflict. Our participants ranged from the ages of 16 to 22 and were delightful mix of male and female students.

Sister Namibia (Vida de Voss) with PAY students, Saturday 24 May 2014.

 

Eager to participate, the students shared their experiences with conflict as well as how they dealt with anger and misunderstandings.

Sister Namibia’s director, Vida de Voss, who facilitated the forum, walked the students through several practical exercises, including an active listening training. The room as divided into two groups. The second group was asked to step outside. While separated Vida encouraged the first group to listen to their returning partners stories with a twist. Whenever their partner spoke the first group would not maintain eye contact and would raise their arms and chew their nails in a distracting manner. The point of this exercise was to illustrate how important body language is when it comes to communication.

Another exercise that was performed was how to define how they dealt with conflict. Posters with the words Assertive, Passive, Passive Aggressive and Aggressive where put up on the four walls of the room. Students were then told to stand in the corner that they best felt described their conflict personalities. When asked to qualify their decision to see themselves as one of the four groups we discussed why they felt that way and what steps could be taken to break that chain of behaviour if it was negative.

Overall it was a very fulfilling experience and the students took to the material exceptionally well. Therefore we would like to thank them for their enthusiasm and for making it a fun filled afternoon for us all.

We then a second forum with the Young Achievers Empowerment Programme at the Katutura Multi-purpose centre. The forum followed the same curriculum as the forum we had previously done with PAY. Young Achievers is a very focused and formidable youth group that focuses on granting young Namibians educational and professional opportunities. It was interesting and inspiring to see that they opened their meetings answering the question “What is the one thing I would change about Namibia?” The answers were fantastic to hear as they are a group of young people who really want to make difference in our country.

 

Young Achievers smile during a conflict management exercise.

 

Young Achievers at the conflict management forum Saturday 31 2014.

Sister Namibia is always involved when it comes to any social injustice and therefore we also participated in the “Bring our Girls Back” campaign.The march took place in Zoo Park in Windhoek. And although they were not as many participants in attendance as we would have liked, those in attendance were very passionate about the cause. A petition was signed and taken to the Nigerian High Commission in Windhoek. The petition called for Namibian and Nigerian governments to ensure the immediate and safe return of the kidnapped girls.

 

 

Protesters in Zoo Park, Windhoek, 16 May 2014.

 

 

 

Has the World Gone Crazy?

Troissouers

Sometimes we tend to become too self-involved (case in point – this blog). We become highly sensitive and reflective when we think about things that we think we cannot change. In my case it always happens when I read the newspaper. At this stage I have come to the point where I belligerently stare across my office at the newspaper lying on the coffee table with complete and utter disdain.

Newspapers now remind me of that scene in Alice in Wonderland where the cake has a sign on it that says “Eat Me”. And I’m like no cake why would you want to eaten? That means you will cease to exist! And Alice! Don’t get me started on Alice. Who the hell are her parents? And why was she never taught that you can’t just walk around putting questionable food and drink in your mouth. And also who provided her…

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Do You Know Your Rights?

 

“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood”

(We would definitely add SISTERHOOD)

-Article 1 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)

Human rights set a minimum standard for how individuals and institutions should treat people. They empower people to take action to demand and defend their rights and the rights of others.

Human rights belong to every individual, to women, men, elders and children – regardless of their racial, religious, social, economic, or physical situations.

They are not the same as privileges, because privileges can be given and taken away, rights are constant and do not change according to the situation.

 

The Principles of Human Rights are:

Universality: they are applicable all over the world, for all people, and no one can take them away.

Nondiscrimination: they are equal for women, men and children.

Indivisibility: the Rights can not be divided or seperated and all rights have the same status.

Interdependence: Human rights concerns appear in all life situations: whether at home, school, markets or work which means that all human rights violations are interconnected.

The fulfillment  of one right often depends, wholly or in part, upon the fulfillment of others. For instance, fulfillment of the right to health may depend, in certain circumstances, on fulfillment of the right to development, to education or to information.

Responsibility: The government, individuals and every part of society share the responsibility for the promotion and protections of the rights.

Sexual rights are rights related specifically to sexuality. All human beings have sexual rights.

(Please feel free to leave your comments to create a discussion on human rights for all).

Gender Stories Clip

16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence: Sister Namibia Road Show

 

The overall aim of the road show was to ensure that the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence (GBV) Campaign reached as many towns and people as possible. The total quota for the road show was to ensure that 16 performances took place across Namibia. In total we made visits to Okahandja, Omaruru, Karibib, Usakos, Walvis Bay and Swakopmund, averaging on two to three shows a day. Through a series of five minute skits the actors, namely, Ndino Ndilula, Helouis Gareseb and Gloria Shilongoh, illustrated the plight of those affected by GBV and domestic abuse.

In Okahandja our first show took place at the Ileni Tulikwafeni Centre in 5 Rand. The centre serves as a support group centre for people affected by or living with HIV/AIDS or TB. Some of the people in attendance at our performance at 11h00 were either beneficiaries or volunteers of the group. In total it was a group of about 60 people, mostly women but there was a fair amount of children and youth as well.

The main issue that the actors faced was the language barrier. Many of the audience members were Oshiwambo speaking and what was really amazing and fortunate was that the actors recovered from this setback and reframed the show in Oshiwambo and Afrikaans in order to have the message reach the audience.
The show itself “Gender Stories” recreates several scenarios of gender based violence acts. Many of the audience members seemed to sympathize with the characters and seemed very genuinely grateful that we had taken the time out to come and visit them. The Community Based Care volunteers decided to incorporate the messages that Sister Namibia brought to them into their community outreach programmes and planned to discuss GBV and domestic abuse with their clients during their home visits. Other members also opted to make GBV a focal discussion point in their support groups.

Our next stop was the Okahandja police station where we performed for about 20 police officers. This was also interesting as one of the skits in the play centres around a woman who has been beaten by her husband and goes to the police station to file a complaint where she is met by a very hostile female police officer who is very unhelpful. We were nervous about this as we thought that the officers would be offended, however, they laughed and seemed to recognise the imperfections of the overall system. In attendance at the station were mostly men with about four women in the group, during a particularly violent scene in the play a male police officer shouted out laughing “He must just beat her”, which brings us once again full circle to the idea of sensitivity training for police officers. The question we must ask is how can they protect us if violence is so ingrained in them that it has become normalized and complaining about it ridiculed?

Our third show was in another location of Okahandja called Shetu 3 at a community centre, this show was very low in attendance with mostly women and children. However due to the intimate setting it seemed that the women took the message well and were overall very excited to see such a performance that they had never seen before and we were encouraged to come back.

Our final show in Okahandja was at a charcoal factory the next morning, where we performed for 120 people. It was a combination of both men and women who were all workers at this factory. Oddly enough it was at this performance that it was the men who sympathized with the abused woman in the play even tutting when her mother sends away from her home when she is seeking shelter and asylum from her abusive husband.
Some of the audience shared their personal experiences and told others that we should talk about these issues more often instead of stigmatizing ourselves.

In Omaruru we did two performances one for the police station as well and for a community church group. The police station show in Omaruru was very tricky as the actors had very limited space to perform. They performed in the main complaints office of the police station and it is a true testament to their skill and professionalism that they managed to carry on with the show, whilst people were reporting their stolen cars.

As the road show was a collaborative effort with various Namibian organisations, it was necessary for us to make new contacts in the field. A Sergeant Komaheke from the Omaruru station was very helpful in giving us an opportunity to perform for his church group in the evening to an audience of about a 100 people. This show was very well received, however it was at this point that we became concerned that audiences at this point were not asking any questions at the end of the show nor that they did not feel comfortable in a discussion after the show.

The next stop on our tour was to visit Rehoboth. We arrived in Rehoboth on a busy Saturday morning, where we met up with the Lifeline/Childline team who were our collaborative partners on the campaign. Rehoboth proved to be a bit difficult as one of the venues we had booked had many of the elements, namely the weather, working against us. Therefore we were forced to perform our show in the main street outside of a shopping centre. The audience was intrigued by the show and asked questions afterwards.

The next day we ventured to the coast, performing two shows in Karibib. The first show took place to a mostly female police force at the police station, we thanked for the show and were invited to return to Karibib to bring the message of gender based violence to the local community. With the aid of the Karibib municipality we were able to arrange a second show in Karibib. We performed the second show in the local town hall, to an audience of approximately 60 youths. This proved to be one of the most important show of our tour as it was evident that majority of the young people in attendance were either drunk, or, as we discovered after the show, had had severe experiences with gender based violence. They asked us for more information and also asked for the contact details of Sister Namibia and Lifeline/Childline, which we provided. It was important for us to also provide those who asked hotlines and emergency contact numbers to make complaints and find out more information on gender work in the country. When and where we could we also provided the names and numbers of social workers and shelters.

Our final shows took place at the coast. Our first show at the coast was performed at the DRC (Democratic Resettlement Camp) on the outskirts of Swakopmund. The area is a strong indication of the extent of poverty in Namibia. We performed for an audience of 40 people in a small craft and community centre. The next day we drove to Walvis Bay and performed for the Deputy Commissioner and 50 other police officers. They responded to the material very well and assisted us in getting to our next performance venue, the Kusiebmund Community Centre.
There were performed to a small group of 15 audience members, who also happened to be former sex workers who now work for the SFH (Society for Family Health). They currently do community outreach providing education on sexually transmitted diseases and promised to include the messages on gender based violence in their campaign. After our meeting the decided to form their own support groups in which they would discuss the GBV and issues paramount to the LGBT communities.

Our final show took place in Swakopmund on the steps of the Aquarium to a small audience of 25 people, however as the show progressed passer-by’s would stop to have a look.

All in all it has been very successful and people seem to love that we have come to them directly to spread the message, as opposed to running national campaigns that have often left many communities left out. And this way by being on the ground we have reached a variety of different people and groups.

The importance of the road show was highlighted by the interaction that the audience members had with the material presented to them. Firstly, the road show shed light on the attitude that Namibians have towards GBV and domestic violence. What is concerning is that not only are most audiences unaware of how GBV affects them personally and how it has become normalised in some communities. Another concerning aspect of the reactions we received was the lack of sensitivity displayed by the police officers in various officers in several of the towns we visited. Most police officers would be amused by the skits and refused to contribute to the discussion following the show. However, that is not to say that all of the Namibian police force is inept when it comes to combating GBV. The Walvis Bay Police Force was a shining example of how effective and innovative the police can be when it comes to dealing with the social ills in their community. After the performance the Deputy Commissioner encouraged her police staff to speak up and come up with ideas, in that discussion the police discussed the idea of setting up a GBV hotline, with the number of police superior attached so as to ensure that all complaints are heard. This suggestion came after a point was raised that many victims of GBV or domestic violence are often turned away from the police station when they come to file complaints.
The impact of the show lay in the fact that many of the audiences we had in poorer and peri-urban communities had no idea that such campaigns and organisations existed and therefore were informed on new human rights which they had no knowledge of. The importance of the road show that we were bringing new and vital information to communities that had in the past been overlooked when it comes to international and national campaigns of this kind.

As an interesting side-note we noticed that many towns, especially Karibib, Okahandja and Walvis Bay, there was a strong presence of women, either as the Station Commander, or as the general staff.
Furthermore, it is only through the collaboration with the local town councils, municipalities, police stations, community centres and social activists in the above mentioned areas that this tour was at all possible, therefore they should be thanked and our relationships with them should be nurtured.

Actors (from left) Helouis Gareseb, Gloria Shilongoh and Ndino Ndilula performing the 16 Days of Activism Road Show in Namibia, Dec. 2013.