On the occasion of International Women’s Day, we observe laws that have been enacted to support women’s rights.
- Political Representation: Women make up 17% of the country’s parliament, and the government has implemented a quota system to ensure at least 30% of political appointments are women. Women hold 61.3% of the seats in the Rwandan parliament, which is the highest percentage of women in any national legislature globally.
- Education: Botswana has made significant strides in promoting girls’ education, with a female literacy rate of around 88% from 80% in 2003. The government has implemented policies to ensure girls’ access to education and has also introduced programs aimed at reducing the number of teenage pregnancies.
- Pink Tax: Botswana voted to offer schoolgirls from poor and rural communities’ free menstrual pads to ensure consistent school attendance. It is estimated that 2/10 girls stay out of school due to their menstrual periods.
- Economic Empowerment: Botswana has implemented policies aimed at promoting women’s economic empowerment. These include the establishment of a Women’s Development Fund, which provides financial assistance to women entrepreneurs, and a Microfinance Policy, which aims to increase access to credit for women-owned businesses.
- Legal Reforms: Botswana has implemented legal reforms aimed at promoting gender equality. In 2016, the country passed the Gender Affairs Act, which aims to promote gender equality and prevent gender-based violence.
Despite these strides, there is still much work to be done to achieve full gender equality in Botswana. For example, women still face significant barriers to accessing leadership positions and face high levels of gender-based violence. Nonetheless, these efforts demonstrate the country’s commitment to promoting women’s empowerment and equity.
Under the theme #EmbraceEquity, Candidate Attorney at Peo Legal, Oratile Mpuchane expands on two interchangeable concepts and how they can be misunderstood and misapplied in the fight toward ending gender discrimination.
Equality refers to treating everyone the same, regardless of their individual needs, circumstances, or differences. In other words, it means giving everyone the same opportunities and resources without regard to their starting point, which assumes that everyone starts from the same place and has the same needs.
Equity, on the other hand, means giving people what they need to be successful, even if it means treating them differently based on their individual needs or circumstances. It recognizes that everyone starts from a different place and may need different resources or support to achieve the same outcome.
“Gender equality and empowerment should be applied as more than a quota in our society. The development of women and girls in our society benefits our nation. Engaging women is key to our development. As we recognise women business let us also take a moment to remarkable women in our lives.” says Oratile.