Women rising: Men not ready to be women-led
Pini Bothoko | Tuesday June 28, 2022 03:19
Gender Links coordinator, Chigedze Chinyepi revealed this at the just-ended Regional Women in Political Participation Academy, held in Nairobi, Kenya.
She stated that patriarchy remains a barrier to women in politics in Botswana to make it to the top as men are still the ones calling the shots, making decisions on who should do what and deciding how resources should be distributed both at home and the community.
Chinyepi said during training sessions she had conducted across the country with community leaders who included Dikgosi, political party leaders, and church leaders, she discovered that culture and patriarchy remain a barrier to women in leadership.
“It came out clear from those engagements that men are not prepared to be led by women. To show that they are not ready, some even used the Bible as a reference that women are not leaders. There is a Setswana idiom, ‘ga di etelelwe pele ke dinamagadi’ meaning women cannot lead which remains a barrier for women leadership,” she said.
However, Chinyepi said there is hope as, at the end of the training they had, a commitment to push for women leadership was made. She revealed that the community leaders made a commitment to help advocate for women’s issues and their leadership as they have formed committees of which they are collectively currently engaging their fellow men sensitising them on the importance of women leadership.
“We are hopeful that we will achieve our intended goal in advocating for women in political leadership as gender mainstreaming remains a challenge across all sectors,” she added.
Chinyepi said over the years it has been proven that women, just like their male counterparts, are capable of holding positions of power, but they still face challenges hence Gender Links has found it fit to advocate for the growth of role of women in leadership. She has also decided to advocate for their leadership at a very young age as women have equal rights to speak with authority on the decisions that affect their lives.
Meanwhile, talking about work-life harmony and self-care, Chinyepi challenged women and aspiring young women in politics to establish who they are and what they want and create boundaries for family life, their political life, and their role as mothers.
She challenged aspiring young women in politics to learn from political veterans who built their political careers. The role models include former Member of Parliament and Cabinet minister, Botlogile Tshireletso who had also graced the academy.
“Tshireletso joined politics when the environment was difficult, but she didn’t despair despite having been called names and even labelled by her fellow women as a woman who wants to spend time away from home neglecting her duties as a mother and a wife. She even empowered herself by going back to school,” Chinyepi said.
For her part, Tanzania Media Women’s Association executive director, Dr Rose Reuben said she has engaged with men and traditional leaders on ways to break patriarchal barriers and believes to be making progress.
Reuben challenged women in politics to believe in themselves and engage with the media for branding because they are capable leaders just as their male counterparts.