Oshana and Omusati and Oshikoto rural women commemorated International Rural Women’s Day at Ongwediva Constituency in Oshana Region. The event was attended by 65 women were they airing their voices in song and telling stories about how is important to be a woman and to be a brave as the guardians of seed, earth, life and water which means we are managers of Nature. Women believe and they understand that International Rural Women day is dedicated to the millions of women living in remote rural areas and celebrates the achievements and contributions of these women towards rural development and agriculture.
We celebrate those who have gone through so much in life, but they remain resilient and happy as well as those who can be as soft as a feather but as strong as a boulder. In October, we celebrated women. But there are those who might ask, why do we need to celebrate them? Well, for one, they are great models of inspiration and motivation. Despite society seeing them as weak and feeble, unintelligent, and reliant on men, they continue to prove how strong and independent they are.
Women have a desire to break barriers, that is why they strive to break gender norms. Gone are the days when a woman’s position is just to clean the house, stay in the kitchen to cook meals, and take care of the kids. They work hard to break barriers. They have proven time and time again that they can do whatever a man can do. That is another thing woman use for motivation. They strive to squash that voice in their head and gain self-respect. When they do this, they can regain the confidence they need to take on the world.
No, women don’t work for praise and encouragement. They are not shallow enough to do that. However, they perform better if they are recognized for a job well done. The truth is that women do not need the opinion and approval of other people. They can take notice of their own achievements and pat themselves on the shoulder. These feats will urge them to push through the day. Women have spent centuries feeling inferior to men. They have spent decades upon decades tending to a man’s ego. They have spent long enough with the image of an incapable and vulnerable creature. Well, women of today strive to change the world. They want to change that image to someone who can do it all, to someone strong but kind, tough but caring, fun but smart. They long for a world where there is no discrimination between sexes, just peace, and mutual respect. That’s what motivates women nowadays. Their kind and caring nature push them to create a world where there is no prejudice, only love, and unity.
Erongo commemorated its International Rural Women’s Day in Otjohorongo in the communal area in the Okongue district. The Erongo Rural Women’s Assembly commemorated the day by remembering the family and loved ones who survived GBV and those who lost their lives in the process. The women also broke the silence among our sons, brothers and men about the high suicide cases in our country is high, which is mostly committed by men. “We want peace and unity in our nation, let’s stand in solidarity against Gender Based Violence (GBV). Our country is bleeding.”
Elder women volunteered to share and pave the right direction for young girls and boys on how one is expected to behave dress and how you behave when you are engaged as well as how and what is expected from a married woman.
They launched of One Women One Fruit Tree campaign and 60 women went home with a fruit tree. NRWA Erongo will ensure that in 2023 all members of Rural Women Assembly’s in the region has three different types of fruit trees at their homes.
The Primary School Community Hostel Feeding program is an annual World Food day initiative, and took place this year in Okongue. The women feed the kids with melon soup from their garden Erongo rural women were saying, “We want to be producers of our own food, all we need is land with water for food production!”
