BOTSWANA ADDRESSES GENDER IMBALANCE Botswana has effectively addressed gender inequality with positive results across both the public and private sectors, UNFPA country representative, Ms Aisha Camara-Drammeh has said. Ms Camara-Drammeh said this during the Botswana SADC Gender Protocol Summit on April 14. She noted that about 55% women in the public sector and 40% in the private sector held administrative decision-making positions. Ms Camara -Drammeh said some councils had initiated a budget for gender activities. However, she said Botswana’s performance in the political arena was not encouraging, as only 8% of parliamentarians were women, according to the SADC Gender Protocol 2013 Barometer. She said this did not compare well with the SADC regional average that had gone up. Seychelles and South Africa were in the global top 10 of women’s presentation in Parliament. She cited the Seychelles, South Africa, Mozambique, Angola, Tanzania and Zimbabwe as having achieved or surpassed the 30% women representation in Parliament. At the local government level, Lesotho had the highest, at 49%, South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania and Namibia had all surpassed the 30% mark. Ms Camara -Drammeh expressed concern that SADC countries would fall short of the original 30% target and would not reach the 50% target by the end of 2015, The deputy permanent secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs, Ms Kelebogile Kgabi said government welcomed any strategy aimed at creating awareness and efforts towards gender equality in the society. Ms Kgabi said Botswana’s good progress was, however, clouded by the high rate of Gender Based Violence visited on women and children. However, she said the country would continue to make efforts towards an effective and efficient response to gender related matters. She explained that the objectives of the workshop were to lobby for a strong post 2015 SADC Gender Protocol that would incorporate missing areas such as sustainable development and to strengthen the commitment to women’s rights, as well as build linkages between the media and local government work on the ground. (BOPA)
Posted on: Wed, 16 Apr 2014 04:45:08 +0000
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