An Analysis Of Women Representation In The Security Sector: A Case Study Of The Namibian Defence Force

ABSTRACT

The Constitution of The Republic of Namibia Article 10 guarantees equality before

the law and the right to non-discrimination on the basis of sex. Therefore, the

Namibian government through an Act of Parliament devoted all government

institutions, Namibian Defence Force (NDF) included, to ensure equal opportunities

of men and women in appointment to decision-making positions as well as equality

of voices in committees dealing with security matters. Since the establishment of

NDF in 1990, female appointment has been moving very slow. While women

constituted the majority in the country, they are inadequately represented in the NDF,

especially in decision-making structures to effect critical policy changes. Thus, the

main objective of this study is to analyze women's representation in the NDF: to

determine how gender and culture influence women military perceptions; to evaluate

the opportunities and challenges encountered by women in the NDF towards training,

appointment and promotion to strategic positions; and to investigate women

perceptions on representation in the NDF.

The study applies qualitative method and exploratory research design to enable the

study to secure qualitative information from the respondents, and allow participants

to express their views and opinions. The sample size of 120 members is drawn from

the NDF target population. Purposeful sampling techniques is used to sample 30

members from the population as key informants from Defence Head Quarters

(DHQs), and 90 are selected randomly from all three arms of services. The study

found that, if given a chance, females can play a crucial role and can do what their

male counter part can do. The study therefore recommended that, education and

training programs concerning equal opportunities and affirmative action needs to be

employed in NDF.