12 Mar 2014

Gender mainstreaming in the media has yielded positive results as the media continues to ensure that women have a place in the industry.

Speaking at a press briefing in Gaborone on Tuesday, March 11, Gender Links Botswana (GLB) country manager, Ms Keabonye Ntsabane said the media and stakeholders such as the Botswana Association of Local Authority (BALA), remained at the forefront of fighting gender disparities in the country.

She said the media was now extensively reporting on issues of gender based violence, which was a welcome shift from its previous stance.

Ms Ntsabane said her organisation would this year embark on a country wide tour during which it would lobby people to register and support the South African Development Community (SADC) Annual Gender Summit which would be hosted in South Africa.

The tour will be in the form of workshops, beginning with Botswana south in Ghanzi on March 17 and Botswana north in Francistown from March 21. The national workshop will be hosted in Gaborone from April 14.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is sponsoring the workshops. The five-day workshops will all be aimed at monitoring and evaluating results of GLB, taking stock of the performance and progress made.

Mr Moemedi Tsimanyana standing in for BALA executive committee, stated their partnership with GLB over the last four years had helped mainstream gender in all programmes in local authority, which yielded significant achievements and growth, he said

Mr Tsimanyana said BALA advocated also catering for the disabled persons in the workplace and ensuring that women were given preference in industries like Architecture and Construction.  Ends