The Office of the President has announced the need to rename the Office of the First Lady to the Office of the First Spouse.
This is aimed at promoting inclusivity.
This comes after president-elect Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah's husband, Denga Ndaitwah, is due to become the first gentleman of the nation, following Nandi-Ndaitwah's victory in the country's presidential polls, announced on Tuesday.
Ndaitwah is a former chief of the Namibian Defence Force.
Presidential spokesperson Alfredo Hengari told Desert FM yesterday the shift is necessary and is in line with global practices.
"There may be a need to change some of those appellations [titles] because they are gender insensitive. Because you do have men who are becoming first gentlemen. So, as things are changing, some of those appellations may need to change," he said.
The Office of the First Lady has previously been headed by Sustjie Mbumba, Monica Geingos, Penehupifo Pohamba and Kovambo Nujoma.
During a media conference yesterday, Nandi-Ndaitwah described her election to the country's highest office as a form of breaking the glass ceiling. However, she noted that she is not the first African woman to become president, with former Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf being the first female democratically elected as the head of state of an African country.
"[She] is the one who really led the way and reaffirmed that equal responsibility as women and men in society is a reality," said Nandi-Ndaitwah.
Sirleaf served as the president of Liberia from 2006 to 2018.
Samia Suluhu Hassan became the sixth president of Tanzania in March 2021, following the death of president John Magufuli.
Hassan served as vice president of Tanzania from 2015.
Nandi-Ndaitwah said becoming the president of Namibia is a clear indication that women are taking up leadership roles in the country.
"We have proven ourselves. That's why the number of women at the level of leadership is increasing in this country," she said.
Nandi-Ndaitwah further said her achievement should inspire more women to aspire to become president.
Meanwhile, Hengari said the Office of the President intends to educate Namibians on the concept of a first gentleman and the change of the title to the Office of the First Spouse.
Hengari noted that the duty of the spouse's office is to contribute to the Office of the President by enhancing the status of the Presidency and provide important support to the president.
Hengari said the idea behind the Office of the First Lady or the office of the First Gentleman is to offer technical and administrative support in terms of spousal efforts to carry out activities of their choosing.
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"This is not the first time a man has held such office on the continent and thus should be provided with different types of support staff to enable them to carry out their duties successfully," Hengari said.
"The first gentleman will determine areas of interest and priority, and we cannot speculate as to what those areas will be. What we can assure you is that there is continuity in terms of the office itself," he noted.
With such a milestone in the history of Namibia, there are a number of things that need to change to reflect the dynamics of ushering in a new era, he added.
