rural area whose rights are being violated may not be able to afford transport to town to file a lawsuit or the cost of staying there during the litigation. Women are adequately represented in the legal profession judiciary and magistracy as indicated by the attached statistics.14 Law enforcement officers continue to receive human rights training offered by the tertiary institutions and the Legal Assistance Centre. Some officers attend training programmes with human rights component including human trafficking at the International law Enforcement Academy (ILEA), based in Gaborone, Botswana. 40. ARTICLE 9: POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AND DECISION-MAKING In terms of Article 17 (1) of the Namibian Constitution, “All citizens shall have the right to participate in peaceful political activity intended to influence the composition and policies of the Government. All citizens shall have the right to form and join political parties and, subject to such qualifications prescribed by law as are necessary in a democratic society, to participate in the conduct of public affairs, whether directly or through freely chosen representatives.” In terms of the Electoral Act, Act No 5 of 2014, everyone who is 18 years old has right to register as a voter and vote during Presidential, National, Regional and Local Authority elections including in national referendum on Constitutional issues. During the period under review women continue to be under-represented in the management and decision making structures of Namibia’s Public Service, Regional Councils, parastatals and the private sector despite our country’s progressive law on affirmative action which positively discriminates in favor of women in appointments. Women are only 27% of Permanent Secretaries and 32% of Directors who constitute critical decision-makers in the country while in Parliament they constitute only 24% having reduced from 30% in the previous Parliament. The proportion is far below the 50/50 mark recommended by the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development by 2015. While women’s empowerment initiatives in Namibia could be applied at various levels and in different areas such as family, community, national or 14 See attached statistics on women in legal profession and other Governments positions, marked as annexure “E” - 54 -