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Monday, March 8, was International Women’s Day, which probably passed some people by.

It is supposed to be a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women.

The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity, but the disturbing rates of gender-based violence alongside sexual assault, abuse and harassment, and inequality in the workplace, proves that we still have a long way to go.

One day is not enough.

There were moments of greatness, that epitomise what the day is about, however.

One of those came from Namibia’s First Lady, Monica Geingos, who marked the day with a powerful message to the internet trolls, and misogynists more broadly, who have been harassing her on social media:

YES.

Some irrefutable proof that we need more women in leadership roles.

CNN with a breakdown of what you just watched.

Geingos, the third wife of Namibian President Hage Geingob, said that she was tired of being “silenced”, and had recently filed a “defamation lawsuit against this type of behaviour”.

She says that she has frequently been subjected to “slut-shaming,” and has been labelled as “fat, ugly, stupid and too ambitious” by cyber trolls.

“When they are not asking when or if my husband will impregnate me…. When I’m not ‘busy being a manipulative, deceitful gold-digger,’ I am ‘busy running the country’ as I have ‘bewitched my old Sugar Daddy husband’ who is ‘too blind to see through my feminine charms,’ Geingos said in the video which has gone viral.

She asked women to speak up and speak out about their own experiences, posting the video with the hashtag #YourSilenceWillNotProtectYou.

“When you stand up for yourself… You will be called a troublemaker, too aggressive, too unladylike. That is why many of us prefer not to challenge gender bias. That’s why we endure being called gold-diggers, sluts… Too fat or too thin,” she said.

Geingos was rated one of Namibia’s most influential people before her marriage to Geingob, who had previously served as the country’s prime minister.

I’m just putting this out there – Geingos for president.

[source:cnn]