Women have an innate ability to bring about positive change in their communities – MVA
In commemoration of the International Women’s Day (IWD), which is celebrated annually on the 8 March since 1975, MVA Fund has called on women to be active participants in the reduction of road carnages .
The Fund’s call is in line with this year’s IWD theme ‘#BalanceforBetter’, which provides for a collective direction to guide and incite continuous collective action. In the context of road safety, the call is for all stakeholders; especially the mothers, aunts, sisters, teachers, friends, daughters and partners of this soil to rise and drive road safety in the bid to alter the global bleak picture painted on Namibian roads.
“As nurturers, caregivers and partners, women have an innate ability to bring about positive change in their communities. Our call is really, for women to use the same caring power to actively and positively influence road safety and driver behaviour throughout Namibia, thereby preserving human lives, restoring family structures and inculcating a culture of road safety,” said Surihe Gaomas-Guchu, Chief Corporate Affairs of MVA Fund.
Crash statistics recorded by the Fund portray a big difference between men and women when it comes to road safety. According to the statistics, men are far more likely to lose their lives or be injured in motor vehicle crashes as compared to their female counterparts. In 2018, 3562 men sustained various degree of injuries while 205 lost their lives, whereas, 2056 women were injured and 158 succumbed to motor vehicle crashes during the same period.
It is worth noting that, a lot of factors can contribute to this discrepancy, however, they are mainly linked to gender difference in road safety attitudes and behaviour, she added.
Even though the call is on women to come on board, road safety is an issue that impacts all of us, whether directly or indirectly and as a nation, we need to stand united as we strive towards creating safer roads.
“Everyone has a critical role to play in road safety in order make a difference and reduce the number of crashes on our roads. All you need to do is be cognizant of best driving behaviours and adjust accordingly,” said Gaomas-Guchu.
