Katrina Harabe

A pioneering Namibian feminist and independence activist who led the first all-women's battalion in the fight against colonial rule, while establishing schools to empower women.

Katrina Harabe (1905–1987) was a trailblazing figure in Namibia's struggle for independence and women's rights. Born in Ovamboland (present-day northern Namibia), she defied colonial-era restrictions by organizing the Women's Defense League in 1948, which later evolved into the first all-female military unit in the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) resistance movement. Her battalion famously disrupted apartheid-era supply lines during the 1960s, earning her the nickname 'The Iron Lady of Oshikoto.'

Simultaneously, Harabe founded the Okahao Girls' Vocational School in 1952, which became a model for gender-inclusive education. Her curriculum combined traditional skills with modern subjects like mathematics and political science, graduating over 3,000 students by 1970. "Education is the bullet that fights ignorance," she famously declared during a 1965 speech at the Windhoek Women's Congress.

Harabe's dual legacy is documented in Oral Histories of Namibian Women, a UNESCO-preserved collection of interviews. Her leadership inspired the National Women's Education Policy enacted in 1973, which mandated girls' access to secondary education. Today, her portrait adorns the Namibian 50-dollar note, a rare honor for a female historical figure.