16 Mar 2020

Women in Botswana have made tremendous strides to partake in socio-economic development of the country to take it to another level.

Peculiar Dreams director Ms Baker Jakoba told BOPA in an interview recently that women had come a long way and deserved a pat on the back with regard to initiatives and programmes that impact positively on the lives of the people.

She shared that women had been oppressed culturally and were made to believe that they were inferior but had since risen above all the odds to make the needed impact on the economic gains of the country.

Though she acknowledged that there was still a long way to go with regard to gender equality and other spheres of life that affected women, one cannot write-off women as pivots of the nation, noting women were more committed to taking up space in society.

Peculiar Dreams is a company that provides catering services, whose proceeds assist needy women in the Southern region.

The company was formed to assist needy women in the region.

She said yesteryears women sources in the media was very low as large percentage content was attributed to men but now a significant portion was ascribed to women, pointing such a move was a tremendous development as it created an opportunity for the voice of women to be heard.

She shared that women had a lurid voice that could be very impactful, adding their views and opinions could be heard.

She said the number of women working in the media had substantial increased thus creating a platform for women to partake in socio-economic development of the country using the media as a device to advance goals and aspirations of the country.  She sad given that members of the media were partners in development that placed women on a pedestal of development, she said.

Ms Jakoba said it was imperative to recognise women that were doing great in all spheres of life.

She said time was ripe to show the younger and upcoming generation that whatever role they chose to play in the society was important and formed part of a bigger spectrum of development.

She was of the view that women were brave and should be seen as such, pointing out that women should not be choosy when seeking jobs: they should do blue colored jobs just like their male counterparts, as there were no limitations on what a woman can or should be or do.

She expressed gratitude that women were also working in mines and construction companies.

She quoted a farmer, Pearl Ranna as saying that ‘women play a vital role in farming as their involvement can be traced right back to the family unit,  because over the years women have always been the ones who stayed at the lands to grow vegetables and fruits, making sure that the whole family had a decent meal.’

Ms Jakoba also requested that the government should look at ways to educate women on food production and, avoid just offering funds to them.

She challenged women to do things that they were familiar with. Ends