24 Mar 2013

Multiple roles played women in society tend to limit their opportunities to excel in areas of leadership, says Tatitown Customary Court president, Ms Margaret Mosojane.

Addressing women during the district women’s day commemoration in Radisele, Ms Mosojane said women were expected to keep their homes together such that if a political opportunity competed for attention with caregiving, naturally caregiving won the day.

She said there was need to overcome many challenges faced by women to pave way for gender equality particularly that women are the backbone of this country.

Also, Ms Mosojane called upon women to be assertive, set achievable goals and develop the “I can,” mentality. She noted that this mentality was driven by a clear understanding of the benefits of a gender neutral society.

She said failure to embrace gender equality could cripple or slow down the development process economically; politically and culturally hence the importance of driving programmes that would remove obstacles that might disadvantage women.

Ms Mosojane cited conservatism as one of the challenges in the journey to change and urged women to identify cultural and religious stereotypes that tend to block the path towards transformation

Women, she said, should prepare their minds to accept change which has already started taking place.

In addition, she said women remained under the yoke of poverty and diseases compared to their male counterparts. Studies have revealed that 62 per cent of the unemployed were women, she added.

However, Ms Mosojane commended government for creating an enabling environment for women to participate fully by establishing Women’s Affairs Department and formulating a national policy on women in development.

She also commended the government for signing and ratifying a number of regional and international protocols and treaties on gender related issues.

“We must be proud that our country is ranked number six in leadership position in Africa.”

For her part, Botswana Association of Local Authorities (BALA) Secretary Ms Ludo Matshameko said women were the pillar of the nation thus played a critical role in society.

She said women of today should therefore portray good qualities that will transform the entire society, adding that women should raise their children especially girls to become responsible independent citizens.

Ms Matshameko said women should not tolerate situations where children bring home food bought by their elderly partners, adding that it was wrong.

She therefore encouraged women to teach the girl child how to strive for economic and political power rather than perpetuating “dependency on men syndrome.” ENDS