22 Nov 2016

Botswana is committed to the promotion of gender equality and women empowerment, even though it has not signed the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development.

The protocol, adopted in 2008 in South Africa, calls signatories to harmonise their national legislations, policies, strategies and programmes with relevant regional and international programmes related to empowerment of women and girls for the purpose of ensuring gender equality and equity.

The Minister of Nationality, Immigration and Gender Affairs, Mr Edwin Batshu explained on Monday  November 21 that government was fully committed to promoting gender equality and thus developed policies and programmes that ensured and accelerated sustainable participation in the socio-economic development.

“We are fully convinced that promoting gender equality and harnessing the productive potential of women is the only option that can guarantee Botswana’s sustainable socio-economic development in the 21st-century,” he told a summit on SADC Gender Protocol in Gaborone.

Mr Batshu told delegates that a tremendous improvement in the situation of women had been achieved in Botswana, which included development of a National Action Plan on Mainstreaming Gender and

Addressing Gender Based Violence within communities.

However, the minister said there were some gaps still to be addressed in the process of achieving gender equity and equality.

One of these, he said, involved concluding of a Gender Based Violence Referral System as well as a comprehensive National Study on Gender Based Violence.

A representative of the SADC Gender Protocol Alliance Partner, Ms Chigedze Chinyepi said their mission was to have women representation in decision-making in Botswana to reaching 50 per cent within the next 15 years.

She also said the Alliance, which is a network organisation advocating and campaigning for the SADC Gender Protocol, remained hopeful that Botswana would one day adopt the Protocol.

“We would continue with the lobbying and advocacy until our government signs the Protocol,” she said.  BOPA