01 Jul 2021

 A lot of strides have been made in improving the status of women both in the country and internationally, Minister of Nationality, Immigration and Gender Affairs Ms Anna Mokgethi has said. 

Speaking during the opening of the Generation Equality forum in Gaborone on Thursday 1, Minister Mokgethi said the country had made notable progress in all the critical areas adopted during the 1995 Beijing women’s conference. 

She cited provision of technical and financial support for women to start a small business and  improved access to health facilities with maternity wards which was now within a five-kilometre radius. 

Ms Mokgethi said other achievements were opening space for women to participate in leadership, strengthening laws and punishment for violence against women and promotion of girls to enrol for science, technology, engineering and mathematics. 

Botswana, she said, had prioritised six areas of concern being poverty and economic empowerment, power and decision making, training and education, health and violence against women including human rights and the girl child. 

Over time, government started programming for other areas such as women in media, climate change and women as well as peacekeeping, Ms Mokgethi said. 

The minister said Botswana joined the global community in the generation equality forum, which focused on speeding up implementation of gender equality commitments made during the Beijing conference. 

She said six action coalition themes of gender-based violence, economic justice and rights, bodily autonomy and sexual reproductive health and rights, feminist action for climate change, technology and innovation for gender equality as well as feminist movements and leadership were used to monitor the commitments. 

UN resident coordinator, Mr Zia Choudhury said the forum was an opportunity for the country to do better. 

Saying there had been more talk and less action, he stated that realisation of equal rights was the unfinished human rights struggle of this century. 

“The world is calling for more action and less talking. 

It has been 26 years since the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, and we still live in a world where women have fewer opportunities to prosper when compared to men,” he said.

Another speaker, France ambassador Ms Laurence Beau said the fight for gender equality was one of France’s priorities. 

The embassy was  committed to helping non-governmental organisations dedicated to the fight against violence instigated on women, providing psychological support to communities and young mothers as well as promoting women empowerment, she said.

Generation equality forum is a global gathering for gender equality initiated by UN women.

The forum started in Mexico in March and its final meeting, which opened June 30 in Paris, France,  ends today. Ends