31 May 2015

 The Assistant Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Ms Botlogile Tshireletso, says gender issues remain among top priority areas in her ministry.

Ms Tshireletso was speaking at SADC Gender Protocol Summit 2015 under the theme: Now and Post 2015, Yes We Must in Gaborone on May 26.

She said government was worried about the escalating number of cases of gender-based violence, gender influenced discrimination and gender in justices in the country.

 “I will like to highlight that these are not just criminal offences, but also cause instability in the society. They often leave permanent emotional and physical scars on the victims,” she said.

The Minister also stated that according to the Gender Based Violence indicator study done by the government and gender links, over two thirds of women in Botswana have experienced some form of gender based violence in their life time and almost half of men surveyed admitted perpetrating the violence.

“This is a sad reality for a country that is considered peaceful. As government, we welcome any assistance and strategy aimed at creating awareness and efforts towards building a gender equal society,” she said.

She, however, commended the efforts by councils, Botswana Association of Local Authorities (BALA), Gender Links and its sponsors to augment the gender affairs department in coordinating gender related activities.

For her part, WHO United Nations representative, Ms Felicitas Zawaira said the summit served as a call to government and its partners to step up the pace on fulfilling the 28 targets of SADC Gender protocol before the 2015 deadline.

She said Botswana’s performance in the political arena was not encouraging, saying according to SADC Gender Protocol 2014 Barometer, following the general elections last year only eight per cent of parliamentarians were female. She said it was the lowest in the region.

However, Ms Zawaira said Botswana has addressed gender inequality with some positive results. She said notably more women have taken up administrative decision-making positions in the public and private sector; about 55 and 40 per cent respectively.

She also said the country has been reported as one of the few developing countries that have an impressive representation of women in senior positions in the work place. Ms Zawaira said the participation of women was important in decision making and power sharing as a critical element in nourishing democracy.

“Gender equality and the empowerment of women must be realised to achieve sustainable development beyond 2015,” she said. The summit aimed to strengthen the gender movement from local, to national and to international level. Ends