01 Feb 2015

Botswana will for the first time join the rest of the world in commemorating the One Billion Rising revolution on February 14.

One Billion Rising revolution is a mass action campaign to end violence against women across the world. Global statistics indicate that one in three women on the planet will be raped or beaten in her lifetime. This number translates to one billion women, hence the concept behind the name of the campaign.

This year for the first time, Botswana will observe this day in Kasane where community leaders, government departments, political leaders, young people, religious leaders, men and women from across the country are expected to attend. Risk groups like sex workers are also expected to attend as they are too often exposed to gender based violence.

This is a collaborative initiative by Department of Gender affairs, District Aids office, Tebelopele, Botswana National Youth Council, peace-corps volunteers and other stakeholders.  One of the campaign organisers, peace corp volunteer, Ms Theresa Peo Govert, said a lot of African countries had still not taken part in the campaign despite it is globally the largest against gender based violence.

Botswana’s statistics show that 2 out of 3 women will experience gender-based violence in their lifetime, which is higher than the average global figures, she added.

“Through song and dance, we want to rise against gender-based violence on February 14 to celebrate love and women,” she said. Already teams have started going around organisations, private companies and government departments to present their idea and seek support for the campaign.

A social media campaign is also ongoing, which can be found on a Facebook named Kasane One Billion Rising to sensitise people about this campaign.

According to the One Billion Rising website, every February, people rise in hundreds of countries across the world to show their local communities and the world what one billion looks like and shine a light on the rampant impunity and injustice that survivors most often face.

The campaign highlights the fact that violence against women is a global human issue not relegated to country or tribe or class or religion. ENDS