Papers by Elizabeth IKhaxas, director of the Women’s Leadership Centre

Cultural practices, women's rights, HIV and Aids. A case study of the Caprivi Region in Namibia in OPENSPACE, Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa, Vol 2, Issue 5, October 2009

Cultural Practices, Women’s Rights and HIV/Aids – A Case Study of the Caprivi Region in Namibia

Beyond identity politics: Building a movement for sexual autonomy and choice
Presented at the HBS International Conference: Sexual orientation, gender identity and human rights in Africa, Cape Town, 15-17 November 2010

Beyond identity politics: Building a movement for sexual autonomy and choice

Same-sex sexuality among Damara women in Unravelling Taboos. Gender and Sexuality in Namibia, edited by Suzanne LaFont and Dianne Hubbard, Gender Research and Advocacy Project, Legal Assistance Centre, Windhoek 2007

Photo Book

The publication Our lives in our hands. Photographs and Text by Namibian Women, compiled and edited by Elizabeth IKhaxas, Women's Leaderhip Centre, Windhoek 2007 presents the banners of the photo exhibition in book format.

It is available in Windhoek bookshops and from the Women's Leadership Centre.

Advocacy Booklets

We, Women and girls of Namibia claim our rights to survive HIV and Aids by challenging poverty, oppressive cultural practices and violence, Women's Leadership Centre, Windhoek 2009

This booklet was developed in partnership with women and girls from across Namibia. It calls for the protection of women's rights in all spheres of culture and society in order to reduce the high rates of violence and HIV and Aids experienced by women in Namibia.

It was published in English, Silozi, Damara/Nama, Oshiwambo, Rukwangali and Afrikaans by the Women's Leadership Centre, and in Otjiherero by Sister Namibia. It is now out of print.

You can download the English version, or contact the Women's Leadership Centre for PDF-files of the other Namibian languages.

Violence is not our Culture. Women claiming their rights in Caprivi Region, Women's Leadership Centre 2011

This booklet was developed in partnership with women from across Caprivi Region. It breaks the silence and taboos on many of the harmful cultural practices that incorporate various forms of violence against women, young women and girls and expose them to the risk of HIV and Aids.

Contact the Women's Leadership Centre for copies in English and Silozi.

We, Women and girls of Namibia ...

Violence is not our culture

Photo banner exhibition

The photo banner exhibition Our lives in our hands is one of the outcomes of the photography workshops conducted by the Women's Leadership Centre in Khomas, Kavango and Caprivi regions with women living with and affected by HIV and Aids.

The exhibition consists of 26 vinyl banners that evocatively combine images and text produced by the workshop participants 'in their own image' – documenting the powerful spirit of survival against all odds in regions with the highest prevalence of HIV and Aids in Namibia.

The exhibition has been shown in Khomas, Kavango, Caprivi and Erongo regions in Namibia as well as at the 2007 AWID conference in Cape Town.

Anthologies

Two anthologies have been published by the Women's Leadership Centre to date:

Between Yesterday and Tomorrow. Writings by Namibian Women, compiled and edited by Elizabeth IKhaxas, Windhoek 2005

and

We must choose life. Writings by Namibian women on culture, violence, HIV and Aids, compiled and edited by Elizabeth IKhaxas, Windhoek 2008.

We must choose life. Writings by Namibian women on culture, violence, HIV and Aids

Both anthologies are available from bookshops in Windhoek. You can also purchase them directly from the Women's Leadership Centre.