Silence does not protect us – First Lady

By Rosalia David

THE First Lady of Namibia Monica Geingos has urged women to stand against gender insults saying that silence does not protect them but rather protects the perpetrators.

Speaking in a video shared on International Women’s Day, Geingos explained how she had been called fat, ugly, stupid and slut shamed on social media platforms, but had never reacted.

“I was told that I am too ambitious and my silence did not protect me.

When there was a clear social media campaign of anonymous Whatsapp messages specifically targeting me in the most disgusting ways, and I was told not to respond but to ignore and I did. But it was a mistake, your silence will not protect you, the insults just got worse and the lies became a lot,” she stressed.

She added that the insults got to a point where there were no longer boundaries as they also started targeting her loved ones including children, parents, family and friends.