08 Jul 2020

 Dikgosi have been advised to strike a balance between cultural practices and modern lifestyles 

 Presenting to the 3^rd meeting of the 4^th Ntlo ya Dikgosi on July 7, University of Botswana final year student in psychology, Ms Ketswesepe Hendrick said finding a balance between cultural and modern practices could help reduce negative psychological effects.

She defined culture as the characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people, adding that it encompassed their norms, language, social habits, religion, beliefs, values as well as music. 

She noted that in Setswana culture, there were some roles believed to be for men and some for women while in the modern world, men and women’s roles were considered equal. 

Ms Hendricks gave an example of men being considered as heads of families and expected to be sole providers for their families.

She said in a situation where a man did not meet societal expectations towards providing for the family, he would lose self-esteem and feel belittled.

She further pointed out that in the long-termrun men could suffer from depression, which could lead to issues such as suicide. 

Another student, also a final year in psychology, Ms Obusitswe Ofetotse urged dikgosi to encourage society to be aware of mental health issues and promote activities that maintained good mental health.

She also advised them to be accommodative of the changing culture,  explaining that the Setswana notion of Ngwana ga a tshwanelwa go reediwa could lead to parent-child dysfunctional relationships, isolation and other behavioural and mental issues. 

“The notion that monna ga a lele could lead to suicidal decisions as they will bottle up issues with fear speaking out which will result in being ridiculed about their situations,” she said. 

Ms Ofetotse further said cultural practices that threatened an individual’s mental health should be eliminated. Ends