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Using
int'l human rights to realize women's property rights in the
context of HIV/AIDS
Linda Dumba
July 19, 2007
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Presented at
the Forum on Women's Human Rights in Southern Africa, Washington
DC, July 19, 2007
Women
in pre colonial Namibia
- Challenges
faced are due to historical imbalance of
- power
between women and men,
- poverty,
unemployment & related social problems.
- Held positions
of power as chiefs and traditional leaders.
- But the social,
economic and political organization of these cultures was and
still is that of male dominance.
Result was that
women inherited very little or nothing.
Women
in colonial Namibia
- Continued
to inherit very little or nothing.
- Colonialist
refused to deal with women even if they were leaders.
- Customary
laws were
- used
to advance colonial government policies
- reinterpreted
and manipulated.
- Changes
in customary law frequently included
- Western
ideas of male dominance
- resulted
in discrimination against women.
- Lowest legal
and social status than any other system.
- Civil and
customary laws defined women as minors.
- Black and
white women discriminated against based on their gender
- Black women
were further discriminated against based on "race."
- Laws applicable
to the administration of estates were devised along racial lines.
- Administration
of Estates Act 66 of 1965 for whites.
- Proclamation
36 of 1941 for Baster estates (people of a mixed race)
- Native Administrative
Proclamation 15 of 1928 for blacks.
- Enforced
male dominance and racial discrimination
- Women
felt its impact in area of marriage and succession laws.
Origin
of property grabbing
Traditionally
- Principle
of male primogeniture - precludes widows from inheriting
substantial property i.e land, homesteads buildings, vehicles
etc.
- widow given
one year after the death of her husband to cultivate & harvest
a crop.
- Widow return
to her family with greater security.
Today
- Widows are
chased away from the land immediately.
- Some traditional
authorities make widow pay.
- Greed coupled
with poverty.
Harmful
effects on women
- Widows
- Destitute
- Lose
their ability to support themselves & their families.
- Remain
in a cycle of poverty.
- Engage
harmful sexual practices in exchange for money, housing or
education.
- Property
grabbing
- Became
more common as number of death caused by AIDS skyrocketed.
- Increases
women's likelihood of contracting HIV.
- Consequently
contributes to increase in HIV/AIDS infection.
- Interferes
with treatment efforts.
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