21 Dec 2020

This year marks the country’s silver jubilee for its gender agenda to continue moving towards empowerment of women and girls.

However, a recent study compiled by the United Nations on the global state of women’s participation and empowerment, states that fundamental structural disparities in power have not changed in the last 50 years.

Notably, the biggest gender gap is in political empowerment. 

Nonetheless, as the fight for recognition and acknowledgement of women’s empowerment and rights continues to face various practices of resistance, some women have not thrown in the towel as yet, instead, they remain spirited as they strive for gender equality in the political sphere.

One would then ask themselves, what qualities do women need in order to not only enter the politics in high numbers, but to remain resilient in their journey as well.

BOPA interviewed Ms Daisy Bathusi and Ms Motamma Horatius on the qualities they saw as imperative to endure in politics.

Currently contesting for one of the highest posts in party politics, Ms Bathusi emphasised that the political arena needed thick-skinned and assertive women since it was an often challenging ecosphere.

“In essence I am inclined to say running for politics as a woman is not different from the qualities needed from women in the corporate world. 

The only difference is that in the corporate world, you have the protection of the grievance and disciplinary process that can instill a certain amount of discipline among individuals.

However, in the political sphere, people can get away with a lot of disorderliness and unruly behaviour,” she said.

She further elaborated that women who wished to succeed in politics were often forced to define themselves outside of patriarchal definitions of femininity in order to be taken seriously. 

“Consequently our society represent these women as unfeminine and going against what is expected of them. 

However, we need to remain strong and resilient so that we pave way for those who come after us,” she explained.

Having joined politics in 2010, after enjoying a memorable career in the corporate world that spanned 23 years, Ms Bathusi said she saw a gap that she felt needed to be filled in order to develop and advocate for the rights of her fellow countrymen.

She further elaborated that her race for vice presidency was a notable improvement across the political divide since few women locally contested for high positions across parties. 

“My contribution and determination to the position of vice presidency is a distinctive amalgamation of a visionary who employs value-led strategic leadership, fastened on results and focused-driven management, bound together by resilience and courage,” Ms Bathusi said.

Stressing the importance of women in politics, Ms Bathusi further stated that for any society to say they could move forward without the involvement of women was self-defeating.

“Moreover, there is also strong evidence that as more women are elected to office, there is an upshot increase in policy-making that emphasises quality of life and reflects the priorities of families, women, ethnic and racial minorities” she commented.

Ms Bathusi highlighted that the positive impact of women in politics was undeniable, as such, it was up to more women to rise up and take up their space in leadership positions so as to build strong democracies and meet global development goals.

“Moreover, women must be encouraged, empowered and supported in becoming strong political and community leaders for future generations,” she said.

Representing youth in politics, Ms Motamma Horatius, who is Itumeleng Ward Block 3 councillor, highlighted that her journey in politics had had its fair share of trials and tribulations.

She explained that as an ambitious and innovative woman she was in politics willing to challenge the status quo.

She said aiming for positions seldom attained by women was a daily struggle of emotional drain.

“However, what I have learnt throughout this journey is the ability to draw upon my inner strength to survive and thrive in harsh circumstances, as such these are the traits that all women should aspire to attain if they want to succeed in politics” Ms Horatius explained.

Before embarking on her journey in political activism, she had an illustrious life in the spotlight, which included being a multi-titled beauty queen, goodwill brand ambassador and a Big Brother Africa contestant who got termed ‘darling of the continent’ for an outstanding performance that promoted unity, humility and culture.

However, her commitment to philanthropist work, Ms Horatius explained, eventually led her to transitioning to politics. 

“What really catapulted me to come back home and join active politics was after I was honoured as a goodwill ambassador in West Africa and holding the position of being an advisor to the governor of Kwara state in Nigeria.

I stopped and asked myself, what am I doing for my own country? So I came back and joined the revolution,” she said.

Ms Horatius added that her drive was to share knowledge and solutions at the centre where decisions were made, with the intention to propel the country to greater heights.

“When you traverse the world for a good cause, whenever you say you are from Botswana, with all the specs we might have, we are perceived as a beacon of hope and that is how I realised all that is needed is implementation and youthful leadership to oil the machine that is running the country. 

Further, I work hard because I am both a youth and a woman, therefore I fall into two marginalised positions that are found nowhere near any meaningful and sound positions when it comes to leadership,” she said. ends