02 Nov 2021

Seven women will contest for the Botswana National Olympic Committee (BNOC) board positions at the organisation’s elective general assembly on Saturday.

In 2016, eight women contested, something that was hailed as a turning point for women in sport.

At the weekend assembly, two women; Boineelo Hardy and Tiny Kgatlwane will compete for the position of second vice president.

The rest of the women, Irene Ntealamo, Mmaneke Maplanka, Tebo Segaise, Unaswi Matebu and Yarona Sharp opted to compete for two additional members.

Two men; Tlamelo Dube and Reabetswe Jaba have also submitted their names for the additional member positions.

However, some have expressed misgivings about this development saying some women could have challenged men in other positions such as the presidency, where there is Botsang Tshenyego, Ookeditse Malesu and Tirelo Mukokomani.

The position of senior vice president will be contested by Thari Mooketsi and Tshepo Sitale, first vice president position will have Patrick Moesi and Mthandazo Moroka.

Sunday Standard sport editor, Botlhale Koothopile, said in an interview that in the last elective congress, women contested for all positions within the BNOC national executive committee.

He said women who had shown their intentions had great qualities.

“This time around, we have women contesting for what may be deemed ‘women complimentary seats’ within the BNOC.  These are the seats reserved to ensure we meet a 30 per-cent women representation threshold within the BNOC,” he said.

Koothopile said women representation this year had regressed, adding that Botswana was brimming with talented and qualified women sports leaders and it was disappointing they would rather contests against each other than against men.

“It seems like our women still underestimate themselves, their capabilities and the value they bring to sport. Just like in politics, we need to push our women from just being campaign managers and endorsers of men,” he said.

Koothopile said a lot of education had been done to make women better administrators, adding that there was need to instill in them a will to fight for positions.

“Otherwise, we risk being led by less qualified people because qualified and capable people are scared to stand for positions.  I cannot be 100 per-cent sure but I believe politics may have a hand in women not actively contesting for positions,” he said.

“As we have always advised, we need to rid sport of dirty politics.

This I believe would open the way for more women to actively contest for positions. More importantly, women have to understand that every undertaking comes with scrutiny and risk and should not be afraid to take risks to lead,” he said

Women in Sport Botswana (WASBO) public relations officer, Thulaganyo Retshabile, said all was not lost because in 2017, women gained 43 per-cent of the seats on the BNOC board, adding that this year, they were hoping for an increase with 14 per cent.

She, however, said they would continue to encourage more women to contest for decision making positions.

WASBO, she said, had a strategic initiative to develop and implement leadership and management plans to increase the number of women in leadership.

Retshabile said they hoped that at the end of implementation of the developed plans, they would see an improved representation of women in leadership positions. Ends