Honourable Emma Inamutila Theofelus is a young, 27-year-old Namibian born in Windhoek, Namibia and is currently a Member of Parliament and the Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology in the Republic of Namibia.
Before her appointment, Honourable Emma was always policy adjacent and was a Youth Activist around issues of gender, children’s rights, sustainable development and youth unemployment. She served as the Deputy Speaker of the Youth Parliament of the Republic of Namibia and the Junior Mayor of the City of Windhoek amongst other roles.
Emma holds an LLB Honours Degree from the University of Namibia, a diploma in Business Management from Amity University and a diploma in Afrikan Feminism and Gender Studies from the University of South Africa.
In her role, Emma has created strategies to communicate the activities and programs of the Government of the Republic of Namibia and assist in preparing the Namibian nation for the 4th Industrial Revolution.
To Emma Inamutila Theofelus, one of the best weapons in the fight for gender equality is stationing women in positions of political power.
From there, women can reach into the top tiers of decision-making and all the way down to improve everyday lives, says Theofelus, who at age 25 is a Member of Parliament in the Republic of Namibia and Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology.
“Representation is important,” she said. “It’s important to empower more women to take up these spaces in public office and political decision-making so that they’re able to overturn patriarchal systems that continue to hold women back.”
For example, she says, women in power can influence the finance system, which has denied women access to funding for education, business and entrepreneurship, or public health policies, such as extending maternity leaves or educational access to pregnant teens.
Theofelus spoke to the United Nations Global Compact ahead of the 15 March Target Gender LIVE, part of an initiative aimed at supporting companies to set ambitious targets for women’s representation and leadership and address barriers to achieving gender balance in business.
This article was culled from UNGlobalImpact.org
