Maria David
GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE (GBV) remains a national crisis and a violation of human rights.
Ohangwena governor Kadiva Hamutumwa said it will require our collective effort to ensure a safe environment for girls and women to live, learn and lead.
According to Hamutumwa, the collective efforts she is referring to begin from home with parents and guardians, within the school environment with principals and teachers, church leaders, colleagues at work, and collectively where there’s an urgent need to safeguard a girl child.
A total of 4,089 GBV cases were reported in the 2024/25 financial year, with the Ohangwena Region alone accounting for 461 cases.
“The statistics for the Ohangwena Region reported to my office on gender-based violence are alarming, and this calls for action, not only from men in uniform, but from all of us, the community of the Ohangwena and the Namibian nation at large,” she said.
She added that the government remains committed to the protection and well-being of children, girls and women.
Hamutumwa added that several key measures have been instituted, including the formation of a high-level interministerial committee on ending violence against children, chaired by the Minister of Gender Equality and Child Welfare.
Speaking during the conference, Paulina Nghipunya, a 35-year-old inmate serving a 10-year sentence for the murder of her newborn baby boy, indicated that she grew up witnessing her aunt being severely beaten by her husband.
This early trauma set a pattern for her own adult life. Desperate for love, she moved in with her grandmother, who regularly insulted her and reminded her of her abandonment.
This cruelty led her to seek out her biological mother, only to be met with cold rejection.
At 17, Paulina entered a relationship that quickly became abusive—physically, emotionally, and sexually.
“I felt trapped and endured the abuse,” she recalled.
The violence continued after she returned to the man’s home, pregnant with their second child. When he eventually kicked her out, she was left with nowhere to go.
Homeless and alone with her two young children, Nghipunya’s mind was filled with dark thoughts.
“I kept asking myself why nobody wanted me, not even my own mother,” she said.
In a moment of despair, she drowned her 3-week-old baby.
She says she was initially too ashamed to tell the truth about what happened. But since being incarcerated, she has participated in several rehabilitation programs, including a GBV course where she learned about healthy relationships and where to seek help.
She has also completed a Bible course called The Prisoner’s Journey and a program called “A Women’s Programme”.
