25 Apr 2024

For a country that is globally known for mostly positive things such as democracy, tourism and the diamond story, Botswana’s statistics on issues of gender-based violence are shocking and have a potential to undo the good image of the country, Gaborone Central MP, Mr Tumisang Mangwegape-Healy has said. 

Speaking at the donation of sanitary pads by Lucara Botswana to his constituency and Tlokweng kgotla on Wednesday,  Mr Mangwegape -Healy said the issue was even more concerning because GBV was a violation of human rights. 

“As it stands, men as the most perpetrators are violating and deciding sexual rights for women. It is a stigma that we should work together to eradicate by all means possible,” he said. 

He also urged the nation to go beyond just reporting GBV cases, but act on the problem with the same energy, unity and approach it did with the HIV and AIDS pandemic when it was at its peak. 

“The rate at which GBV statistics are going means that, small populated as we are, if one is not violated then they are likely closer to someone who has been violated, which makes it a problem for all of us,” said Mr Mangwegape-Healy. 

He said government had made some efforts in curbing GBV cases, citing the Sexual Offenders Registry Bill, noting that it would be handy once passed into law. 

Mr Mangwegape -Healy also cited the recent amendment of the legislation that would make it tough for serial offenders to be granted bail. 

For her part, Lucara Botswana Managing Director, Ms Naseem Lahri however, said the fact that GBV statistics in Botswana were so high might be because people were now coming out in the open to report violations. 

“Initially, people were too shy to come out in the open, but since we started doing public awareness campaigns we have seen the numbers rising, which is a good indication that we are moving in the right direction,” she said. 

Ms Lahri said now that public awareness campaigns were in place and people had started coming out in the open, it was time to set up remedial measures on combatting the problem. 

She, however, said despite efforts already made, GBV was still a concern in the country, and that concerted efforts were required to give voice to victims. 

Ms Lahri said campaigns on GBV should be an all-year occasion. She, therefore encouraged those violated to keep coming up and report, especially that measures have been put in place such as hotlines. 

On the donation of sanitary pads by her company, Ms Lahri said it was in line with Sustainable Development Goal #5, which advocated for achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls by 2030. 

“Our dream as Lucara Botswana is that sanitary pads should be made free for all women in the country, especially at boarding schools where students could take desperate measures such as using mattress foam,” she said. 

Ms Lahri further indicated that sometimes girls were forced to skip school when they were on their monthly periods, which she said affected their academic performance. 

Sky Girls Programme Manager Ms Mmapula Sedie commended Lucara Botswana for the continued support on issues of GBV and gender equality, which she said indicated a clear drive for positive social change. 

She was proud of what her organisation and Lucara Botswana have achieved in empowering the girl child since 2021. Ms Sedie also said there was still a lot of work that needed to be done, especially providing the girl child with a platform to speak up and be heard. 

She said her organisation was open to more partnership with the corporate world. At the event, Lucara Botswana donated a total of 2 000 locally produced sanitary pads to Tlokweng Kgotla and Gaborone Central constituency. Ends