SISTERS IN ARMS
Women politicians unite to demand equal representation
Men don’t need to fall pregnant in order to talk about abortion, contends Resego Kgosidintsi aka ‘Petrol Bomb,’ the Secretary General of Botswana National Front Women’s League (BNFWL). She was speaking in Gaborone during a three-day workshop on ‘reporting women’s political participation in Botswana.’ Female politicians used the forum to decry being overlooked, which they said leads to them being invisible.The said women in politics are tired of being relegated to addressing ‘soft’ issues even at political party levels, while men speak more on ‘serious’ matters. Kgosidintsi made the startling observation:
“We are reduced to speaking about sanitary pads or abortion while our male counterparts tackle issues of mining, land and others. We are battling for recognition and the war is far from over,” she said.
Kgosidintsi wondered why she should always be tasked with speaking on issues that affect women and her opinions shut out when it comes to issues affecting the economy.
She said it was such conduct that crippled their efforts of deliberately pushing for women to be heard hence the underrepresentation of women even at parliament level. Asked if she meant that men can talk better about abortion compared to women, Kgosidintsi said one does not need to wear diapers to know that it stinks.
“Men do not need to experience menstruation to know what it does in the female body nor do they need to fall pregnant either to speak about abortion, some of us have never been mothers also,” she argued.If only men could give women a chance to lead and prove themselves before writing them off, it would be much better, she said.
She continued that while some women are more educated than men, it is surprising that many people seldom question men’s educational backgrounds but are quick to ask for women’s credentials.
Chairperson of Botswana Patriotic Front’s Gaborone Region Queen Moatswi said women don’t know that they have so much power in their hands. They usually vote in large numbers, so that if they want to make a change, they can easily do so.
Women are always leading campaigns during election year but it is shocking that they do not put the same effort to ensure they are also voted into office. They seem comfortable at lower structures and do not exhibit ambition for high offices. Moatswi said that women are their own enemies. “You will find one man within a group dating 10 women, he then turns women against each other and we begin hating one another.
Then women go on to vote the same man into power forgetting how he used us,” she observed. Moatswi called for political education saying it was high time that women from all walks of life came together and downed their inferiority complex so that they can compete with men at par. Chairperson of Botswana Democratic Party’s Women’s Wing, Gaborone-Bonnington North Rosemary Rantsimane, said women want to be heard and their capabilities appreciated, which is why they are preaching equality at party level. “If women can singlehandedly raise their children why should they be excluded when it comes to leadership roles?” she asked.Her observation is that women fear being criticised, which leads them to take a back seat. They have low self-esteem and are not always willing to come forward when given an opportunity to lead, she said.
“When a vacant position is advertised, women always need a push for them to come forward. They always need to be reassured that they can actually do a better job, but sadly by the time they come forward, a confident man would have long raised his hand,” she pointed out.