Women have been implored to step up and take part in addressing issues of gender inequality and disparity which prevails at all levels particularly in the political system.
This was said by Valencia Mogege, a facilitator during a two day women in politics workshop training held in Maun this week who reminded women that the political system at the end of the day controls decision making of the country.
Organized by the Department of Gender Affairs in collaboration with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the training aimed at strengthening women in politics and capacitating aspirants to be effective leaders and mediators.
Mogege implored women to step up and address issues of gender inequality and low women representation in decision making positions which is a major global concern. She further encouraged them to use their numbers to achieve the desired participation and representation in politics emphasizing the need for policies that priorities women’s interests for them to be adequately represented when decisions are made.
Mogege lamented that the 2019 general elections evaluation report showed that women constituted 67% of the voting population but only three were voted into Parliament. “We need to confront our reality because we have the numbers and yet we cannot support other women. If we fail to push for equality it will limit our capacities and women will continue to be abused,” she said.
For his part, North West District senior gender officer, Felix Mapeu stated that it is imperative for women to get empowered on issues of women politics and women leadership. According to him, women are unable to penetrate through the political arena due to lack of information, hence their empowerment on issues of decision making and politics is crucial.
Mapeu have since pledged to equip the women with knowledge ahead of this year’s general elections to make decisions from an informed position.
He stated that globally, only four countries have achieved more than 50 percent of women representation in parliament while in Botswana, their representation is at 11%, putting the country at 162 out of 195 countries globally.
In her deliberation, United Nations Development Programme facilitator also Botswana Peoples Party Publicity Secretary, Nono Mokoka reiterated that women participation in Botswana politics is very limited.
Mokoka emphasized there need for women to change their mindsets and start doing things differently by supporting each other to push for balance in attaining gender equality in political leadership and representation at every level.
