Some work never really ends. The dishes seem endless. The laundry piles up. Someone still needs feeding, comforting, cleaning, carrying.
From our archives, storyteller, researcher and freelance journalist Namupa Shivute writes about unpaid gendered labour, single parenting, exhaustion and what it means to keep a household running under patriarchy and capitalism.
đź“·: @aafrobeat
Namibia’s laws are clear: the best interests of the child should come first, even when the relationships between adults are changing. But what happens when legal processes prioritise contact over protection?
This anonymous Sister Speaks contribution reflects on how coercive control, systemic delay and procedural thinking can shape real outcomes for women and children navigating family courts.
It asks an important question: who is the legal system truly protecting?
đź“– Read the full story on our website
Sister Speaks | Anonymous submission
Consent isn’t abstract. It’s something you can see, feel and recognise.
In John Muafangejo’s work, the bodies meet as equals who are both held and not taken. There’s balance and intention. That’s what consent looks like.
We’re re-visiting a piece from @tschukutschuku that reflects on on why consent and pleasure need to be at the centre of how we understand sexual health and care in Namibia.
đź“– Read the full story on our website
Namibia’s GBV shelters are under pressure and the numbers don’t add up. We’ve got 10 shelters, 100 beds and a N$1-million budget stretched across an entire country.
And we don’t even know how many survivors are being turned away. Beyond the limited budget, this is about a systems that doesn’t adequately serve the most vulnerable.
Swipe → to understand what’s happening behind the numbers.
Shades of Revolution ✊🏾 by @namafu :
“A visual kaleidoscope of sociopolitical realities, blending hues of red, white and pink. This series challenges traditional notions by intertwining unconventional imagery and composition with key societal issues such as youth political engagement, youth unemployment and corruption. Through the lens of vibrant colours, this series aims to paint a portrait of resilience and empowerment”.
Clinician and activist @tuli_kamati reminds us that walking into a clinic shouldn’t feel like giving up your voice.
You have the right to ask questions, understand your care and be treated with dignity.
Swipe for what every patient should know before their next visit →
Senegal has just passed a new law doubling prison sentences for same-sex relationships, and criminalising the “promotion” or support of LGBTQIA+ people.
This isn’t just happening “over there”. Across the continent, we’re seeing a pattern: laws becoming harsher, public hostility increasing and queer people being pushed further into danger and silence.
These laws don’t just punish identity. They affect access to healthcare, safety, community and basic dignity.
And they can also shape public attitudes, influence policy debates and narrow what is considered “acceptable” across borders.
This is why we pay attention. Because what is normalised anywhere can be repeated everywhere. Including Namibia.
đź“·: @aafrobeat
Twenty thousand children. That’s how many are estimated to experience online sexual exploitation in Namibia each year.
This is not just about the internet and whether children should be allowed to us it. It’s about the systems we have to protect vulnerable people and accountability when they don’t work.
Swipe to understand what’s at stake —>
March is Endometriosis Awareness Month.
Endometriosis is a chronic condition affecting approximately 1 in 10 women of reproductive age but many people have never heard of it, and even fewer understand what it looks like.
In Namibia, severe period pain is still dismissed as “normal”. Many live with years of unmanaged pain, missed school, lost income and delayed diagnosis, often without ever being told what is happening in their bodies.
In the latest Sister Speaks article on our website, clinician and reproductive justice activist @tuli_kamati reminds us that this is not just a “women’s issue”. And pain should not be the price of existing.
It’s a public health issue. It’s an economic issue. And it’s about dignity, access to care and whose pain is taken seriously. Link to the full article in our bio 🔗
Endometriosis affects 1 in 10 women, yet many are told their pain is “normal”.
Pain that disrupts your life is not normal.
Swipe to learn more —>
Menstruation is natural. The silence around it is not.
A new Sister Speaks piece by our very own board member Suzie Shefeni reflects on how menstruation has historically been framed as something dirty, private or shameful and how that silence benefits a global industry built on managing and concealing periods.
From gossip pages and celebrity posts to parliamentary debates about period poverty, conversations about menstruation have power. They open the door to better policy, better health information and greater autonomy over our bodies.
And they raise important questions: What exactly is in the products we use every month? And who benefits from keeping periods hidden? 🤔
Read the full piece on our website, link in bio.
Namibians are talking about condoms in prisons, so let’s separate fear from facts.
Sex happens in detention facilities. Rape happens in detention facilities.
Denying condoms does not stop either.
It increases the risk of HIV, STIs and long-term harm inside prisons and beyond them. Harm reduction is not endorsement of anything, it’s responsibility.
Swipe → because public health should be guided by evidence, not panic.
