Women in Power, Under Fire: What a New Book Means for Namibia’s Historic Presidency
The article discusses the challenges faced by Namibia's first female president, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, in the context of Linda Robinson's book on the global rise of misogynistic authoritarianism. It explores how female leaders often face unique, gendered disinformation campaigns that threaten democratic legitimacy.
Why it matters
It provides a critical lens on how digital disinformation and sexism are used to undermine female political leadership in emerging democracies.
Namibia’s fifth president, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, the first woman to hold the office, was sworn in on 21 March 2025, the 35th anniversary of independence.
Days later, Lucia Witbooi became the country’s first woman vice president and Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila the first woman speaker in the National Assembly, making Namibia the first country in the world with women in the top three leadership positions.
As I wrote then, this was a victory for democracy, and for the generations of women and girls who had “irrefutable proof that leadership is not a male-only domain” – but that the new president was, and is, “a visionary leader rather than a magician”.
That caution seems newly urgent in light of Linda Robinson’s book, ‘Women in Power: Fighting for Democracy in an Age of Authoritarianism’, published under the Council on Foreign Relations imprint.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in