Gender organs call for vibrant Women’s League
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Tuesday August 5, 2025 09:09
As such, they are calling for an urgent revival and strengthening of political women’s leagues to support women vying for leadership roles and general election candidacies. Following that, the organisations have raised alarm over the dwindling number of women occupying top political positions.
Currently, the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) is the only organisation with a notable female presence, reportedly 30% representation, on its executive committee.
Other major parties, including the Botswana National Front (BNF), Alliance for Progressives (AP), and the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), have little to no elected women on executive roles, with some only represented by the Women’s League president, who automatically secures a seat on the central committee by virtue of her position.
Botswana Women's Caucus in Politics chairperson, Rhoda Sekgororoane, described the situation as alarming. She noted that women’s representation in politics has regressed significantly.
'Back in 2001, the BNF had a female vice president, Dr Kathleen Letshabo, and a strong central committee with at least eight women. Nowadays, that number has dropped to just two. Instead of progress, we've taken a step back,' she said. After Letshabo, a little over 10 years later, Same Bathobakae served in the same position, but since her passing in 2015, no woman has assumed any executive position in the BNF. Sekgororwane noted that the decline is not isolated to the BNF alone, but is evident across nearly all political parties. She argued that the women’s leagues, which once served as vital engines for female political mobilisation, have lost their vigor.
“They are no longer serving the purpose they were created for. They’ve grown weak and irrelevant,” she said bluntly. On the other hand, the chairperson of the Botswana Gender Commission, Joy Phumaphi, offers a more structural critique, arguing that constitutional reform is necessary to deal with the matter.
'Botswana must amend its Constitution to enforce gender equality laws that compel political parties to prioritise women’s representation,” she said. “It is even more shocking when you realise that the country is a signatory to the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development, yet fails to uphold its commitments,” added Phumaphi, who was Health Minister in President Festus Mogae's administration.
She emphasised the need for robust public education to raise awareness about the importance of gender equality in political spaces. “Frankly, I’m not surprised by the current decline. This has been coming,” she added. Echoing similar concerns, Emang Basadi executive director, Ida Mokereitane, stressed that the re-empowerment of Women’s Leagues is non-negotiable. “Political parties are simply not taking gender equality seriously,” she said, calling for a renewed sense of urgency in championing women’s rights in political structures.
Furthermore, she said there is need to endorse women who are willing to contest for positions. In addition, Phumaphi said a constitutional review was important to ensure that gender equality is addressed properly. Meanwhile Women’s Political Participation report for Africa Barometer 2024, published by Gender Links with the support of International IDEA, says that, “a drop in representation of women in political party leadership, from 12% to nine percent in just three years, is a major cause of concern. Even more concerning is the fact that only two regions, Southern Africa and East Africa, have recorded any representation of women in party executive positions, albeit still low, at 19% and 11% respectively. In all other regions, WPP stands at zero per cent.”
The report says political parties play a crucial role in nurturing leadership, and the low numbers of women leaders in political parties could mean the national assemblies and other structures of governance continue to be led by men. Though there are no statistics on women’s membership of parties, anecdotal evidence suggests that women constitute as many, if not more, of party members.
It also reveals that the highest level most women get in leadership is the position of deputy secretary-general. However, it states that most women in decision-making in political party structures find themselves in additional member or co-opted positions