28 Jun 2021

The former Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Planning, Ms Botlogile Tshireletso has said there is need to support women in politics.

Ms Tshireletso said this during the launch of the Situational Analysis of Women in politics project by Gender Links in Gaborone on Thursday.

She noted that while Botswana was considered one of the progressive democracies in Africa, there was still more to be done in support of women participating in politics.

She said the Situational Analysis project findings indicated that the representation of women at Parliament and Cabinet stood at 11 per cent and 22 per cent respectively, while at local government it stood at 18 per cent.

“The research findings clearly indicate that over the years, there has been slow progress with an adjustment of less than 2 per cent, therefore, this calls for measures to accelerate Women Participation in Politics (WPP),” she said.

Ms Tshireletso said that some challenges faced by women who had shown interest to stand for elections included society’s negative perceptions, cultural norms, beliefs as well as some traditional practices that discouraged them from doing so.

She said those challenges perpetuated gender inequalities, which remained a systematic barrier for women participation in politics.

“Politics are still viewed as a male space and it is not easy to break the stereotype, and as for women they are best seen to fit well in domestic errands only. The notion that women cannot lead has weakened their self-esteem and they end up feeling they cannot handle well the leadership positions,” she said.

The country has signed International and Regional instruments that promoted equal representation of women in politics and decision-making, she said, adding there was also a need for the Constitution and the Electoral Reform to be reviewed to enable better means to implement the set instruments.

Ms Tshireletso pointed out that the set instruments included the Convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

“I urge women to take advantage of the Constitutional Review when it happens and ensure that you critic those structures that are discriminatory, put on your gender lens, to shape the political future for the upcoming generation to have a better understanding of Gender Equality,” she said.

Board member of Gender Links, Ms Keabonye Ntsabane explained that the objectives of the Situational Analysis project were to increase participation of women in politics.

It also intends to ensure conduct of cross generational dialogue in politics to mentor young upcoming female politicians among others.

She said all the objectives would be achieved through participation by all relevant stakeholders. ends