Africa: Women want prominence without tokenism

Women's organisations are calling on government to pick up the pace of gender reform in Namibia, demanding that the ruling South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) field an equal number of women candidates in the 2009 general elections. Ahead of the organisation's congress in December, the SWAPO women's wing, the Women's Council, resolved at a central committee meeting this month that there should be a 50 percent representation in the party hierarchy and in parliament.