10 Mar 2021

There is a correlation between gender equality and the level of development of a country as confirmed by World Economic Forum, says former Bank of Botswana governor Ms Linah Mohohlo.

Speaking at International Women’s Day commemoration hosted by Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) Monday, Ms Mohohlo she said the connection supported the view that no meaningful development of a country could take place without mainstreaming women in the development agenda.

She noted that the achievement of all the eight Millennium Development Goals depended on progress in achieving gender equality in the developing the world, particularly Africa.
Ms Mohohlo said there was therefore need to ensure that men and women were partners in socio-economic development founded on justice and equality.

She also said the call for gender equality was a call for human dignity.

Ms Mohohlo noted that laws had since been reformed as a result of women pioneers who were driven to demonstrate against unfair working conditions.

Citing the abolishment of Botswana’s Marital Power Act, she stated that the move had positively contributed to the betterment of women’s lives.

However, she said changing laws  was not enough for the achievement of gender equality but rather a mindset change driven by social habits and norms embedded in society.

Men who still lived in the past should be challenged to change their cultural attitudes towards women, she said emphasising that women should also change their attitudes towards themselves and each other.

BSE board member, Ms Itumeleng Mareko said primary challenges such as access to education, employment opportunities, gender-based violence and enforced segregation, were some of the key matters that needed to be addressed to promote sustainable development for the betterment of the world tomorrow.

She said there was need to invoke conversation with male counterparts and change the perception of the masses.

This year’s International Women’s Day  was commemorated under the theme: ‘Women in Leadership: Achieving an Equal Future in a COVID-19 World’. ENDS