Women on probation deserve better

| Friday November 14, 2008 00:00

This year our president came up with some initiatives to try and absorb the majority of graduation in government ministries.

These new government employees had to be on probation of one or two years.Probation is not a bad idea but it had not served new women recruits very well. According to General Orders 1999, 140.2.1 reads, to qualify for maternity leave an officer should have been in continuous service for one year before proceeding on maternity leave.

Any leave for maternity purposes commenced before completion of one year's service shall be unpaid special leave whether or not the confinement is successfully concluded.

This is unfair discrimination because women are victims as they are the one who fall pregnant. It is discrimination based on sex, which is a violation of our own constitution. This also disempowered women financially.

Most women want to have a children before they reach 40 as some of them are already 30.According to the 1995 Beijing conference, women need to have children anytime they want as it reads, 'Reproductive health therefore implies that people are able to have a satisfying and safe sex life and that they have the capability to reproduce and the freedom to decide if, when and how often to do so.'

There is a need to review this order as it will lead to illegal abortions, low moral of women workers hence reduced productivity. This is a betrayal to our vision that we aspiring for.

Kebonyemodisa Tshepho Watota

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