Rosa Namises

A prominent voice on gender issues, human-rights violations, and violence against women and children in Namibia, she is the director of Woman Solidarity Namibia and works at the Dolam Residential Child Care centre, a day-care centre for vulnerable children.

Namises was born on 20 April 1958[3] as one of nine children to an Angolan father and Damara mother in the Old Location of Windhoek, the capital of Namibia.

After graduating she worked first as a cleaner, then as a nursing assistant, and in parallel she completed her matric through a correspondence course with Sukses College.

[5] In 1985[5] she lost her job in the hospital after having been seen holding hands in public with a white doctor, violating apartheid legislation on racial segregation.

When the party subsequently erected a wall of silence instead of reappraising what had happened, Namises ceased her SWAPO membership in 1992.

In the subsequent parliamentary elections, the CoD gained seven seats, and Namises as secretary-general became a Member of Parliament for the 3rd National Assembly.

Namises is also the founder and main operator of Dolam Residential Child Care, a day-care facility for vulnerable children.