Female police officers will continue to make strides in ensuring safety and security as they embark upon Operation Basadi.

The officers marched in Windhoek to create awareness and commemorate the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.

Basadi, meaning "women" in Setswana, is a SADC-wide law enforcement operation that the female members of the Namibian Police Force engage in.

The operation looks at ways to improve service delivery in crime prevention and focuses on different crimes, which Commissioner Elina Mafwila, NamPol's Human Resources Director, described as "murder, rape, kidnapping, common assault, assault with an intent to do grievous bodily harm, online sexual abuse, and exploitation, trafficking, cyber crimes, corruption, and other related crimes."

Mafwila says that Namibia has a legal obligation to perform it as a member of the Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Cooperation Organization and carry out a biannual women's operation code, called Basadi.

She added that the Namibian Police Force is geared up to ensure the safety and security of all Namibians by ensuring that it fulfills its mandate.

"The Namibian Police Force, as part of its mandate, is always ready. This operation that we are currently embarking upon is just a complementary step towards our mandate as the Namibian Police Force, and the street procession that we have conducted today is actually part of the advocacy raised on the issue of gender-based violence that is perpetrated against women and children."

The Commissioner urged the women officers to execute their functions without fear and ensure that their presence will be felt in the operation arena as long as they align themselves with the mandate.

The women-led operation will start on Monday.