(2018) 2 African Human Rights Yearbook 139 providing for the right to political activity without any distinction as to sex, and for the right of citizens to vote and be elected to public office. The social status of women is closely linked to the broader struggle for liberation and political context of Namibia. Racial discrimination in Namibia is a matter of historical record. Since independence, the practice and ideology of apartheid was relinquished. Rightly so. The resultant vacuum was filled with the ideology of national reconciliation. But national unity alone could not address the plight of the vast black majority who have been directly impacted by the repressive laws and policies of the apartheid government. One of the mechanisms fiercely used by the incumbent SWAPO government, at the regional and local authority level, was the introduction of affirmative action measures aimed at achieving a gender balanced (re-)structuring of its public service, reflective of the diverse racial and sex classes in the country.24 Articles 23(2) and (3) of the Namibian Constitution empower the government through Parliament ‘to enact legislation providing directly or indirectly for the advancement of persons within Namibia who have been socially, economically or educational[ly] disadvantaged by past discriminatory laws or practices’. In doing so, the government must be mindful, in terms of article 23(3) to the ‘fact that women in Namibia have traditionally suffered special discrimination and that they need to be encouraged and enabled to play a full, equal and effective role in the political, social, economic and cultural life of the nation’.25 The affirmative action provision under article 23 of the Namibian Constitution should be read in conjunction with the principles of State directives in article 95(a) of the Namibian Constitution, which directs the central government to ensure ‘equality of opportunity’ for women. Although of mere moral persuasion, article 95(a) of the Namibian Constitution to a considerable extent gives a clear guideline to the states policy of positive discrimination aimed at rendering a comparative advantage to women over men, given the historical realities the world over that left the female species exploited and politically marginalised. However, the non-binding nature of article 95(a) of the Namibian Constitution may account for the overt reality that till date, affirmative action measures have not been legally moored; and that as such the political empowerment of women in decision-making organs, particularly at Parliamentary level, will depend and orient around the whims and dictates of political parties without any security, more specially the ruling party, which in recent years, have strengthen its powers in central government. In addition to articles 10, 23(2) and (3), and more broadly article 95(a) of the Namibian Constitution, a fragmented assortment of rights can be traced, which in one form or the other are causally linked to women. For example, the Constitution recognizes acquisition of citizenship on the basis of equal parental lineage,26 equality in marriage, either during or upon its dissolution, regardless of sex 24 25 26 See generally, art 23(2) Namibian Constitution. See generally, art 23(3) Namibian Constitution. Art 4(1)(c) Namibian Constitution.