Gaborone, Botswana — Three out of 28 female candidates were elected to Botswana’s National Assembly in last week’s general election, as women’s rights activists called on the new administration to increase female representation in the nation’s politics.
Helen Manyeneng of the new ruling party, the Umbrella for Democratic Change, is one of the three female members of parliament in the 61-seat assembly.
The UDC defeated the Botswana Democratic Party, which had held power since the country gained independence in 1966.
Manyeneng said women face many challenges, including poverty, in their efforts to win political office.
“We have very low socio-economic status in Botswana as women,” she said. “The past government showed no political will to assist. I think as a newly elected female MP, I am going to advocate for women economic empowerment.”
Manyeneng said the patriarchal nature of Botswanan society, in which men have greater control over money and decision-making, restricts female participation in politics even though women are interested and capable.
“The issue is, who is supposed to elevate them?” she said. “Who is supposed to assist them? If you allow yourself to be under a man … who is assisting you financially, he will not allow you to stand for political position. The majority of men want to control. They don’t want to be controlled or don’t want to share that control with you.”
The regional nonprofit organization Gender Links released a report on Botswana before the October 30 election. It raised concerns about “missing women’s voices in politics.”
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Gender Links consultant Pamela Dube said Botswana has done too little to empower women.
“It is a sad situation,” Dube said. “It has been like this for a very long time. Fifty-eight years later [since Botswana’s independence from the U.K.], we only have three women in parliament.”
Botswana’s “patriarchal society,” she said, “does not believe women can lead, particularly in areas like politics.”
On Wednesday, newly elected President Duma Boko used a special dispensation to name three more women to the National Assembly.
“We wanted to reach out as broadly as possible to bring in young women, in particular, with skills and visibility in society,” he said. “And then of course, we had to look at increasing the number of women [in parliament].”
The special appointments mean Botswana’s parliament has 9% female representation, still well below the Southern African Development Community target of 30%.
