Gender And Military Professionalism: A “Case” Study Of The Namibian Defence Force

ABSTRACT

The Namibian Government’s commitment to the provision of equal opportunities and gender implementation in all Government institutions and agencies has brought a new significant dimension to the Namibia Defence Force (NDF) in terms of employment practice, thereby requiring change of attitudes in order to adapt to the new approach. This thesis, a case-study of the NDF provides detailed views and perspectives on gender in the country’s military profession. The study thus, portrays the perceptions of the General Staff officers towards equal opportunities for women and men in the NDF with regard to training, appointments and promotions to strategic positions and to positions of foreign exposures. The study also describes the experiences and viewpoints of the Senior and Junior Staff officers on the subject of the military services provided by women and men in the NDF; and compares the demographic characteristics of the members (i.e. gender, and years of service) with their military positions. The study found that gender issues have been put into consideration in the NDF and indeed, Management cadres are aware of the gender imbalances in the Force. However, the general feeling is that the actual military part of NDF per se is the reserve for men only. Thus, the study recommends that more should be done to bring up greater gender awareness and increase the role played by women in the NDF.