18 Nov 2024

Despite persistent advocacy for gender equality and equitable opportunities especially in leadership positions, women remain underrepresented in various prominent roles across the world, including politics.

The 13^th Parliament witnessed a decline in the number of women compared to the previous Parliament.

Currently, there are only six women MPs, three of whom made their way through Special Elected Members of Parliament (SEMP) dispensation.

In contrast, the previous Parliament had seven female MPs, four of whom were specially elected.

In the recently concluded general elections, a lesser proportion of female to male candidates was fielded by individual parties as MP candidates.

However, in an interview, one of the candidates who stood for Parliamentary seat, albeit as independent, Ms Letlhogonolo Ntlhaga said while factors contributing to underrepresentation of women in Botswana’s Parliament were varied, the most significant one was societal expectations on women to fulfill domestic responsibilities such as taking care of the family.

The 40-year-old said self-criticism worsened by societal portrayal of women as incompetent further discouraged female participation in politics.

Additionally, she mentioned lack of financial resources to support political campaigns as a significant barrier to women’s advancement in politics, emphasising that politics required a lot money.

Ms Ntlhaga proposed that government should establish a dedicated funding for women aspiring to run for political office as a form of affirmative action. She noted lack of support from other women as another challenge.

Ms Ntlhaga said running as an independent candidate posed its challenges as voters aligned themselves with political parties than individual ideologies or manifestos.

Mmopane-Metsimotlhabe MP, who is also the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Ms Helen Manyeneng said low women participation in politics was mainly due to poor economic status.

“Currently we have a high number of single mothers who are also not financially able. Therefore, with the little they have, they tend to prioritise their families’ welfare over their wishes to pursue politics. One would rather buy a bag of mealie meal than print posters,” she said.

Ms Manyeneng said there was a need to come up with women economic empowerment initiatives to enable women to take care of their families and at the same time, pursue politics.

“Apart from that, there is a need to groom young girls from an early age to build their interest in politics,” she said.

Ms Manyeneng, a nurse by profession, indicated that among her top priorities when she gets to Parliament would be to advocate for women empowerment initiatives.

Social Activist and Women’s Empowerment Leader, Ms Charity Opelo expressed concern regarding the decline of female representation in the Parliament.

“Botswana has suffered another blow of having fewer female representatives in Parliament in the year 2024,” she said.

This, she said signified a diminished voice for women, which was crucial for ensuring that legislative decisions encompassed diverse perspectives and needs of the entire population.

She argued that the presence of women’s voice in policy making enhanced inclusivity and promoted gender equality, ultimately resulting in laws that supported socio-economic empowerment of all genders.

Ms Opelo said the influence of cultural norms and gender stereotypes, amongst others contributed to the decline of women in political leadership.

She said entrenched cultural beliefs often perceive leadership as a male-dominated domain , thereby discouraging female participation.

She said women engaged in politics encountered barriers related to limited access to financial resources. 

Lack of robust mentorship and support structures in politics, she said could make it difficult for women to pursue and sustain political careers.

Ms Opelo said increasing women’s representation in political spheres required concerted efforts, including advocacy for gender quotas, political education, and increased public awareness campaigns to change societal attitudes.

For her part, Emang Basadi executive director, Ms Ida Mokereitane said Botswana had made significant strides in appointing women to key positions within public service, where most of them were permanent secretaries, deputy permanent secretaries and directors, and even in the private sector and civil society organisations.

She, however regretted that women were still underrepresented in parliament where only six women served against 61 male parliamentarians.

She said this was worrisome and disturbing, taking into considerations that, women contributed over 52 per cent of the population.

Ms Mokereitane said there were varying issues and circumstances affecting representation of women in political office but the primary obstacle was patriarchy which affected women globally.

Lack of political funding she said was another obstacle hindering women to ascend into political office.

Also, she said the current first-past-the post electoral system made it difficult for women to pursue politics.

Ms Mokereitane said women standing for political positions may lack familiarity with critical issues that could enhance their campaigns.

This, she said was likely to result in loss of self-confidence and a desire to persist and endure in their quest for political participation at decision making level.

To address this challenge, she said they was a need for political parties to educate their members on gender and politics, thereby raising awareness on the impact of negative cultural practices and their ramifications for equal involvement and participation of women in political decision

She advocated for government to enact a gender equality legislation and for civil society organisations to bolster programmes that supported advocacy initiatives and capacity building interventions for gender parity in political decision making.

Women who made it to Parliament are Ms Maipelo Mophuting, Ms Manyeneng, Dr Nono Mokoka-Kgafela, Dr Unity Dow, Ms Bogolo Kenewendo and Ms Lesego Chombo. Ends