06 Aug 2018

Former Cabinet Minister and diplomat, Ms Tebelelo Seretse has called on women to participate in politics.

Speaking at the Anglican Women’s Fellowship Annual Conference which was held at Ranokanyane Junior Secondary School recently, Ms Seretse challenged women to occupy positions of leadership in politics as a matter of principle.

She commended Botswana for its sound democracy and good governance, but indicated that it was now time to focus on participatory democracy for all.

“Botswana should now focus on participatory democracy which is inclusive of everyone. It should have special dispensation for the youth, women and the disabled, including other sectors and sections,” she said.

She challenged women to not only be comfortable working for the church, but also participate actively in developing their country through playing a part in politics.

“Women in churches should begin to assume leadership positions not only in church, but also in the sphere of politics and be comfortable doing so. We need to understand that we are the majority in our country and therefore decisions taken affect mostly us and our children,” Ms Seretse said.

She noted that studies had also shown that there were more females than males in tertiary institutions, adding that, similarly, even the pass rates had proven that women performed much better than their male counterparts.

“Females are doing exceptionally well in education. Why do they find it not worthy to participate in politics when in fact decisions which are made there, affect them,” she said.

She said there was need to educate and teach women to understand that  as much as they did not want to participate in politics, the political landscape would not stop and that decisions made there, would forever affect them.

In his welcome remarks, Kgosi Omphile Motsokono encouraged congregants to continue uplifting the gospel of the Lord.

He said in the past, people were not allowed to pray and were severely punished when doing so, adding that, it was through Dikgosi that people were finally given permission to pray freely.

“Walking in the path of faith is not for many, but Serowe is blessed as most of us are Christians,” he said. ENDS