EU remains committed to protecting women and girls: Martins

The European Union (EU) will remain at the forefront of the international effort to defend the rights of every woman and for every girl to live free and safe.

This was stated by the head of the EU delegation to Namibia, Beatriz Martins, here on Wednesday. Martins said the EU has a policy that promotes the rights of women and children, as well as economic, social, and cultural rights.

She noted that the EU’s new Action Plan on Gender Equality 2020–2025 has identified gender equality, women’s empowerment and peace and security as cross-cutting issues to be included in all EU policies, strategies and projects.

“The EU will stay at the forefront of this international mobilisation to defend the rights of every woman and every girl to live free and safe. We do it for our future and our present, because women represent half of society and are the pillars of just, open, developed, and democratic societies, and nothing should deprive them of the freedom to play their role freely and safely,” she said.

Meanwhile, Martins commended Namibia for achievements in the areas of human rights and gender equality. However, she said that the Southern African country is still faced with challenges of gender-based violence.
Speaking at the launch of the Combating GBV Campaign, Martins said incidents of gender-based violence remain high in Namibia, where rates soar between 28 per cent and 42 per cent in some regions.

In line with its new action plan on gender equality, the EU Delegation in Namibia donated N.dollars 28 million as part of a contribution agreement with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to combat GBV.
She said the main goal of the campaign is to contribute to the reduction of gender-based violence in targeted regions of Namibia by 2027.

“We hope that the joint efforts by UNFPA, the ministry of gender, civil society and all other relevant stakeholders will have a direct impact on supporting comprehensive quality service delivery,” she said.

(NAMPA)
AT/HP/AS
(NAMPA)