Namibia. Female Skipper Profiled in Documentary

It used to be that a woman onboard a fishing boat or ship was regarded as bad luck. In the 21^st century, however, equality is the name of the game for Namibia’s first female skipper, Nelago Kwedhi. She has been at the helm of the MFV Kanus for the past two years.

Kwedhi is the first woman to captain the NovaNam fishing vessel. Now 41 years old she has been working for the company for 16 years starting as a junior officer and working her way up the ranks. This after completing her studies through the Namibia Fisheries Institute.

Recently she spoke at the premier of the documentary, “Lüderitz: A city born from the sea”, in which she was the main protagonist. Sponsored by Pescanova Namibia, it is the story of Luderitz and the development of the fishing industry.

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As fisheries minister Bernard Esau summed up: “The government places special importance on the development of Lüderitz as a tangible economic base in order to grow Namibia’s blue economy in that part of the country to contribute to the socio-economic development of Namibians in the Kharas region and create sustainable jobs.”

“Our fishing industry has been at the forefront of this development through smart partnerships between the government and the industry, especially considering the economic challenges that come with places as remote as Lüderitz, from a business operational point of view,” the minister said.

Kwedhi’s greatest challenge has been the stereotyping that as a woman she cannot do the job and she is the first to say that “working at sea is a sacrifice”.  It is also hard to be leading an all-male crew. But as she tells other women “just keep on doing your best and do not forget where you come from”.

Content sourced from The Namibian