(2018) 2 African Human Rights Yearbook 151 has changed, under customary social rooting, many women still do not enjoy autonomy. This remains a global trend in both the North and South. Women are regarded as dependent on men for subsistence. The recent failures of two and success of one prominent political figures makes out an illustrious example of the semi-autonomous perceptions in which many women are viewed: The repetitive reference to the failures of then American President Bill Clinton by presidential hopeful Donald J. Trump, whilst countering the arguments of his rival, Senator Hillary Clinton, demonstrates how women, even the very elite like Clinton, are labelled and suppressed on the basis of their male counterparts. It is almost as if Hillary Clinton’s campaign for presidency was evaluated against the successes and failures of her husband. A similar trend also occurred in the presidential bid of former AU Chairperson, Dr Nkososana Dlamini-Zuma in South Africa’s ruling ANC elective congress in December 2017. Dlamini-Zuma’s loss to political rival, Cyril Ramaphosa, was largely attributed to her association of the then president, Jacob Zuma who had been in disfavour with his ruling ANC party and general public. Dlamini-Zuma had been previously married to Jacob Zuma. In Namibia, the ascent of Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah to the vice presidency of SWAPO, the ruling party in Namibia, was viewed by many as dependent on the support of her male counterpart, the incumbent president Hage Geingob, despite her established political career spanning over three decades. The experiences of these three women, illustrates the stereotypes politically ambitious women encounter, and the subordination they undergo, which their male counterparts barely encounter. The disproportionate impacts of high prevalence of unemployment and extreme poverty in Namibia, as in various parts of Africa, on women also impedes their potential to fully explore political avenues. This reality is aptly articulated in the recently concluded Strategic Framework of the Commission of the AU:80 [T]he existence of widespread gender inequalities between men and women has manifested itself in the disproportionate burden African women bear of the poverty, illiteracy and disease. While they constitute more than half of Africa’s population (52 per cent), they face challenges in accessing equal opportunities and rights, and are severely underrepresented in decision-making positions while at the same time their welfare is grossly undermined by cultural and traditional practices. Running for political office requires economic resources, or at the very least collateral and other forms of financial security, which many women (compared to men) do not have. This is more likely the case because, as recently concluded in the (Revised) National Gender Policy (2010-2020), ‘poverty is most pronounced among the 44 per cent of female-headed households in rural areas’.81 According to the same 80 81 African Union Commission ‘Strategic plan 2014-2017’ (2013) para 196 https:// au.int/sites/default/files/pages/32028-file-the_au_commission_strategic_plan _2014-2017.pdf (accessed 24 March 2018). Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare National gender policy of Namibia (2010) 12 http://www.africanchildforum.org/clr/policy%20per%20 country/namibia/namibia_gender_2010-2020_en.pdf (accessed 9 March 2018).