27 Mar 2017

Men and boys have been encouraged to join the global campaign for gender equality, this will promote the emancipation of women and girls to the overall benefit of society.
Chairperson of Botswana National Sports Commission (BNSC), Solly Reikeletseng said this at the National Stadium on Saturday during the HeForShe campaign.
Reikeletseng said men had the responsibility of ensuring that their female counterparts were not hindered in their quest for equal opportunities.
“It is very important for men and boys to become proactive in supporting the quest for gender equality as this can speed up the process of having women and girls empowered,” he said.
He added that if men were conscious of the struggle for gender equality, some of the abuse perpetrated against females in society would lessen.
“If we raise awareness on the need for fair treatment and equal opportunities for all, then we would have more people working towards lessening some of the abuse that exists within society,” the sport commission chief said.
He explained that the HeForShe campaign was initiated by the United Nations with its primary goal being to engage men and boys as agents of change in the struggle for gender equality.
“This is a global initiative that was first adopted in this country by the government through the Department of Gender Affairs. As the BNSC we felt that sport could be used to reach out more to people, and with the International Working Group on Women and Sport (IWG) currently hosted in Botswana, we took up the HeForShe campaign,” Reikeletseng explained.
Internationally, the campaign gets men to sign up a pledge to support gender equality, and Reikeletseng, the champion of the country’s campaign, said in Botswana their target was to register 20 000 men. “We have thus far registered more than 2 000 men in this country, and we are working on initiatives to get more to sign up to the pledge. More activities will be announced in due course as we plan to go across the country sensitising men and getting them to pledge,” he said. The deputy director of the Department of Gender Affairs in the Ministry of Nationality Immigration and Gender Affairs, Vuyelwa Segokgo said it was important for males to be involved in gender parity issues.  “It is important for men and boys to enlist as equal partners in the crafting and implementation of a shared vision of gender equality, nonviolence, and respect, and form the basis for shaping a positive society,” Segokgo said.
The day’s activities included music by local artistes including Vee and Dr Vom, educational speeches and two football matches; one between Township Rollers and Gaborone United ladies sides. and the other between the Rollers men’s side and South African premier soccer league side Platinum Stars.
In the ladies match, Rollers won 1-0 through Kesegofetse Mochawe. ENDS