09 Dec 2025

A diverse group of experts convened in Gaborone on Saturday at the call of host, Ms Njiramanda Mbewe-Boatey, to examine the influence of patriarchy on gender-based violence (GBV).
Held under the theme, From Blame to Accountability, The Great Debate, the patriarchy and GBV edition 2025, brought together individuals from law, religion and other fields, igniting a critical dialogue on systemic gender inequalities.
In her welcoming remarks, Ms Mbewe-Boatey emphasised that the time to address GBV was now. She urged participants to interrogate patriarchy amid soaring statistics of suicides and passion killings.
She lamented that progress had been slow and systems remained stagnant, but was hopeful that the debate would enable attendees to trace where failures occurred and explore remedies to restore peace, which was currently under threat.
Court of Appeal Judge, Lot Moroka explained that while patriarchy contributed to GBV, it cannot be solely blamed.
Judge Moroka noted that patriarchy underpinned many societal foundations, including law, particularly common law such as marital law.
However, he highlighted that the legislative progress was gradually dismantling patriarchal structures, with statutory law progressing in that regard. On GBV, he urged people to resist conditioning to abuse, warning that tolerance had led to lives lost, describing GBV as a crime in all its forms.
Media personnel, Mr Kealeboga Dihutso attributed the breakdown of family structures to a vacuum left by changing societal dynamics.
Mr Dihutso observed that children today were often raised by single mothers, whereas in the past, raising children was a community effort involving extended family members like uncles.
Botswana Council of Churches (BCC) vice president, and a human rights activist, Reverend Thabo Mampane, said patriarchy existed within the church, citing biblical origins where man was created first and woman from man’s rib.
He acknowledged that church leadership had historically been male-dominated but emphasised the need for growth and inclusion, clarifying that the church was the hospital of the soul. Speakers including Dr Morena Rankopo, a social educator at the University of Botswana, Kgosi Mosadi Seboko, Paramount Chief of Balete and psychologist, Mr Leshomo Sebati stressed that much work remained to break inequality barriers.
They called for early interventions to change perpetrators’ mindsets and urged research to address trauma responses that continued to haunt men. ENDS