10 Mar 2024

Investing in women is a human right issue and is vital for building inclusive societies and promoting democracy, says the chairperson of the Parliamentary Caucus on Women, Ms Naniki Makwinja.  

Delivering a statement in Parliament to commemorate International Women’s Day on Friday, Ms Makwinja said investing in women would ensure and safeguard the future prosperity of Botswana.

She said the presence of women in business and in leadership positions was of paramount importance to the government’s commitment on women empowerment. 

“The current government led by Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi has made an intentional effort in ensuring that women are visible in leadership positions,” she said.

She said the accessibility of finance to women, credit, technologies and markets, would expand their businesses and contribute to sustained economic growth and development.

Ms Makwinja noted that world economies were supported by SMMEs and that approximately 75 per cent of SMMEs in Botswana were women-owned.

“Investing in women’s health will also ensure a healthy society, which will then lead to a productive society,” she said.

Ms Makwinja also noted that Botswana’s efforts to empower women had been supported through the establishment of different policies and acts such as the Economic Inclusion Act to cater for their inclusion in the development of the country.

“The Women Economic Empowerment Programme and the Women’s Grant under the Department of Gender Affairs are two such examples, albeit with implementation challenges. 

These agendas provide seed money for women’s groups to help jumpstart women-led small business projects,” she said.

She said the introduction the Chema Chema Fund would go a long way in ensuring that women were economically and socially empowered, adding that it would also increase their political participation. 

Despite significant progress, Ms Makwinja  said gender inequality remained a pressing issue across the globe. She noted that women still faced significant challenges in areas such as equal pay, access to education and healthcare as well as representation in leadership positions.

She highlighted that it was government’s goal that Botswana should be an inclusive society that fostered active participation and provided opportunities for all.

Ms Makwinja also noted that the Chema Chema Fund came at a time when the Botswana Revised Land Policy of 2019 gave everyone eligibility to a residential plot in a place of their choice on both state and tribal land. 

“Previously, only unmarried women or the wives of men who did not already own land were eligible for land rights. Now that any woman, married or not, has access to land, they will be able to access programmes such as Chema Chema and invest in their livelihoods,” she said.

This, she said, was in line with Sustainable Development Goal five, which spoke of gender equality and empowering all women and girls.

She said Botswana had made significant strides in issues relating to gender equality and women’s empowerment since independence in 1966. 

“With a patriarchal history in which women have not been socially or economically empowered, we must stand proud and state for the record the achievements we have made as a people in ensuring women inclusion in policy development, budget allocations and programme mainstreaming,” she said. In addition, she said Parliament played a crucial role in advancing gender equality and advocacy on women empowerment, adding that the Parliamentary Caucus on Women committee would continue to ensure that policies as well as laws passed were relevant  to the advancement of women’s interests. Ends