CHALLENGING GENDER IDEOLOGY NARRATIVE IN BOTSWANA

Botswana as an African country still upholds its cultural value rooted in patriarchal notions and definitions of gender and the place of women in the society.

These perceptions are also supported by remnants of colonial rule that have criminalized bodies and expressions of sexuality and gender that do not conform to the heteronormative ways of society. This has seen a growing need to seek systematic reform with advocacy around gender identity and expression. In 2018, Botswana ruled on two landmark cases that legally recognized the change in gender marker for individuals whose assigned sex at birth does not correlate with their gender identity/expression. This victory however, does not mean the freedom of queer persons in accessing justice or other services that are affirming to their being. This requires our government to be accountable to the precedence that has been set and proactively work

We have been dealing with issues of self-esteem and exploring how we can support building ourselves from inside going out, and esteem building is critical.

This includes developing a positive attitude towards who you are as a person as well as developing cognitive constructions that shape a good positive feeling about yourself. Esteem can be simplified but it is in fact a complex subject but key is the constant messages we give to ourselves and receive from other people especially those who matter in our lives. In this process, it is important to also appreciate Godly presence or absence and how it influences and or shapes the formation of our self-esteem, consequently leading to self-awareness and self-concept.

The exploration of the presence of other people is also very important especially the messages that bring