00:00We can do it. And yes, Namibia did.
00:02From electing its first woman president to woman holding nearly half the seats in the National Assembly in Namibia,
00:08woman literally ruled.
00:09Who runs the world? Girl.
00:11In fact, it's the only African country to rank in the top 10 of the World Economic Forum Global Gender
00:16Gap Report,
00:17thanks largely to its deliberate inclusive leadership strategy.
00:20According to stats from UN Women, Namibia's National Assembly includes 44 women out of 104 members.
00:26That's 42.3% representation.
00:30In 2014, Namibia introduced the zebra system, a bold 50-50 gender policy adopted by the ruling party SWAPO.
00:37It requires alternating male and female candidates on party lists and leadership structures.
00:42In simple terms, it means if the woman is a minister, the man is the deputy and vice versa, a
00:48built-in balance.
00:49At the time, analysts noted that as women gain power, they're better placed to compete for positions that are traditionally
00:54dominated by men.
00:55Because political and economic incentives shifts when representation shifts.
01:00Funny how that works.
01:01But despite this progress, challenges still remain.
01:04Out of 42 newly sworn-in National Council members, only 7 are women.
01:08It's a slight improvement of only 14% in the previous House.
01:12Representation at regional and constituency levels still lags behind.
01:16But beyond politics, there are still gaps in unpaid care and domestic work, as well as key labour market indicators
01:22such as gender pay gap and ICT skills, among others.
01:25Laws like the Married Persons Equality Act or the Communal Land Reform Act are helping dismantle long-standing inequalities.
01:33But legislation is just one step.
01:37Namibia's progress is real.
01:39But lasting equality requires not just representation, but deeper transformation in social norms and economic opportunities.
01:46And power at the local level, not just at the top.
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