(2018) 2 African Human Rights Yearbook 145 typically the first mechanisms of redress for women and girls in rural areas. Although the Traditional Authorities Act of 2000 obligates traditional establish-ments in discharging their functions to promote affirmative action amongst the members of that traditional community, very little has been done to promote women in the chieftaincy and in senior and local traditional leadership levels.60 Whilst the inclusion of women within traditional authorities is not a given, based on the fact that these structures are predominantly patriarchal, law reform can be a pivotal apparatus in deconstructing this patriarchy. The argument is not that law should be used to distort the character, existence and operation of traditional authorities. The argument is rather premised in the fact that the inclusion of women within traditional communities would not only be a necessary step in dismantling patriarchy but will also accord women a ‘voice’ and meaningful space within traditional settings, which for far too long have been viewed as the sphere of men. The advances made in women’s representation too have seeped into some key public sector bodies. Of the twelve-member Board for Legal Education for instance, currently women hold 50 per cent of the Board’s seats. This is despite the fact that there are no reservations made in terms of affirmative action measures for women to serve on the Board in its enabling legislation. The Board for Legal Education is constituted in terms of section 8 of the Legal Practitioners Act 15 of 1995 (as amended) and is primarily mandated ‘to investigate and advise upon any legal education pertaining to the legal profession and any related matters’.61 The inclusion of a considerable number of women on the board is remarkable given the historical disparities in race and gender that clouded the legal profession.62 As rightly noted by practitioners Clive Kavendjii and Nico Horn, ‘the apartheid policies of the South African government, the financial disadvantages of the black communities as a result of those policies, and the total absence of training facilities for aspiring black lawyers kept the profession almost exclusively white’.63 The filtration of more women in public sector decision-making bodies is also visible in the Public Service Commission, the Law Reform and Development Commission of Namibia (LRDC), and the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN). The Electoral Commission of Namibia, whose mandate is derived from both article 94B of the Namibian Constitution (as amended) and the Electoral Act of 2014,64 currently 60 61 62 63 64 See for example sec 3(1)(g) of the Traditional Authorities Act of 2000. See generally, sec 11(f) of the Legal Practitioners Act 15 of 1995. For example, historically the Namibian Bar was comprised predominantly of white Namibians, thereby ameliorating the effects of the apartheid system on previously disadvantaged lawyers in the legal profession. By the time the Legal Practitioners Act was passed on 25 September 1995, the Namibian Bar comprised 21 members, with only two black members. This has since changed however, and as of 2014 there are 40 members, 11 of whom are black. C Kavendjii & N Horn ‘The independence of the legal profession in Namibia’ in N Horn & A Bösl (eds) The independence of the judiciary in Namibia (2008) 291309. See generally, art 94B of the Namibian Constitution and sec 4 of the Electoral Act 5 of 2014 for the mandate of the Electoral Commission.