Pray For Mma Tshire
It was bad, I was in pain – Hon. Tshireletso
Former Member of Parliament for Mahalapye East, Botlogile Tshireletso is recuperating after having been bedridden and in great pain for the past few weeks. MmaTshire, as she is affectionately known to her legion of fans, had internal complications in the abdominal area, forcing her to undergo surgery.
“It was bad, I was in great pain but I am now feeling much better. I am currently not allowed to do anything hectic, not even to drive but just simple slow walks in my yard,” she said this week, after returning from the successful surgery.
The former assi stant minister of Local Government and Rural Development was her cheerful self and throwing a bit of humour in her chat.
“Le a ba bona ka koo akere ngwaga o simologa, these confused politicians changing party colours like nobody’s business, I personally think this is sickness,” she jokingly said, throwing a jab at recent political defections.
Tshireletso retired from active politics back in 2019, ending an impressive 40-year political career. She began her political career back in the 70s and was in parliament since 2004.
She is amongst the longest serving female politicians locally and during her time in Parliament, Tshireletso was very vocal about female representation in politics. She together with other great women in the likes of former Minister of International Affairs and Cooperation, Unity Dow and former speaker of the National Assembly, Margret Nasha spent sleepless nights fighting for women empowerment and participation in politics.
The outspoken and fiery politician also served in the BDP Women’s Wing as chairperson, a position that enabled her to recruit, teach and learn from others on how best women can be convinced to join politics. Moreover, Tshireletso will probably always be remembered for strongly advocating for legalizing of prostitution and abortion in Botswana. When many frowned to her suggestions, Tshireletso was always quick to say many women were into backstreet abortion, leading to their untimely deaths. Legalizing abortion, she said, would help save lives. She also noted that prostitution was high in the country but because it is illegal, sex workers are often exploited and even raped. Since the trade is illegal, such cases always go unreported, leading to high HIV/AIDS infections and high expenditure on antiretroviral drugs.