Hands off other women’s husbands
Kgosi Mosadi Seboko of Balete says women must admit that some Gender Based Violence (GBV) occurrences in communities are perpetuated by women and girls themselves.
Kgosi Mosadi, who was speaking at the commemorations of International Women’s Day hosted by UNICEF under the campaign theme, ‘Choose To Challenge,’ said while there is no excuse and place for GBV in communities, some women and girls choose to invade other women’s households and marriages causing incidents of GBV.
“Let’s challenge these practices – women fighting other women, breaking families and leaving children fatherless. Let’s not encourage fathers to leave their children and run away with us, young beautiful girls. We need to introspect and fix this,” she said.
Kgosi Mosadi said in their quest to attain gender equality and fight GBV, women and girls should not leave men and boys behind, but educate them to embrace the change.
“Even if we work hard, if we leave them behind, we are fighting a losing battle,” she said.
She said it is also critical to educate young boys and girls from an early age about equality because at that age, it is critical for them to embrace values and promote respectful relationships in an effort to address gender imbalances.
“Men in Ramotswa have embraced gender equality and are ready to rid our community of the social ills,” she stated.
Mosadi said equality does not necessarily mean that men and women should be the same but that they need to acknowledge their different roles and work together.
“This means kgetsi ya tsie in our culture,” she said, adding that when society develops women and men alike, it’s the country that benefits.
While she acknowledged that some cultural practices encourage gender inequality and sometimes GBV, Kgosi Mosadi said people should always remember that culture is dynamic and not static.
In line with the theme, Mosadi challenged cultural practices that perpetuate inequality and GBV.
She regretted that there are some communities that still embrace practices that are overtaken by time like in traditional ceremonies where men are offered chairs to sit, while women are made to sit on the floor in a room with stacks of chairs, some with health challenges that do not allow them to sit on the floor.
She however encouraged people to hold fast to cultural practices that are positive and do not cause harm.
“We still embrace and encourage botho, kagiso, tlotlo, therisanyo as valuable positive aspects of our culture,” she said.
Kgosi Mosadi encouraged young girls to take education seriously, stay away from alcohol and boyfriends as that will cause them to lose focus.
She added that young girls particularly, should challenge themselves in the way they do things.
This year’s theme aims to open a conversation about what each girl and woman can do to challenge the status quo to ensure gender-balance across all aspects of society.
Speaking at the same event, First Lady Neo Masisi said although different laws and regulations are in place to eliminate inequalities, they still exist at school, home, and workplace.
She said this is why Botswana has always aspired to create a just and inclusive society through initiatives, policies and laws that promote gender equality and the rights of women and girls.
She cited instruments like Vision 2036 that state Botswana’s commitment to promote social inclusion, to end poverty and to foster shared prosperity, as well as ensure women’s full participation in development.
Mma Atsile said there was need to create an enabling environment for women and girls, not only for them to thrive and realise their full potential, but also for the whole nation to achieve sustainable development.
She concurred with Kgosi Mosadi that education is key and that both men and women need to be educated to embrace equality.
“Choose To Challenge understanding of equality, Choose to Challenge the appetite for equality,” she said.