14 Sep 2022

Members of the National Gender Commission have been urged to work hard to achieve their gender mainstreaming and gender based violence (GBV) mandate.

Speaking at a five-day commissioners training workshop in Palapye on Monday, a consultant, Ms Zanele Magege said their primary mandate was to advise government on gender issues, particularly on policy development.

She said men and boys, women and girls should be included in GBV education. 

Ms Magege urged the commissioners to persevere in the face of challenges.

The commission’s vice chairperson, Dr Morenaogaufi Rankopo said the training was aimed at creating a common understanding of gender equality and equity issues since the commissioners came from diverse backgrounds and sectors, with extensive individual and collective experiences.

He said it would equip the commissioners with knowledge and skills to enable them to engage with leaders and citizens more confidently.

They would also learn about mainstreaming GBV with a view to advising government. 

Another objective of the training was to enable participants to identify gaps and suggest critical areas/themes for prioritisation during their term of office. 

At the end of the training, the commissioners should be able to understand how to effectively discharge their mandate; utilise social capital to reach out to communities, districts and nation, challenge and reset embedded cultural beliefs, practices and barriers to accessing development opportunities by all citizens, he said.

Dr Rankopo called on the commissioners to challenge society to introspect and determine what steps to take to promote peaceful co-existence.

He said society needed to be more accountable for its actions and inactions with regard to promoting gender based equality. Dr Rankopo encouraged commissioners to find innovative ways of collaborating with stakeholders to ensure that no Motswana was left behind in development. Ends