Political women face cultural barriers
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Friday February 7, 2014 15:20
When she was sworn in as a Member of Parliament (MP) this week, Dr Habaudi Njiro Hobona made history as the first woman MP from the ranks of the opposition since Botswana's independence. Botswana Congress Party’s Dr. Hobona, representing Francistown West, increases the number of women MPs to five in a Parliament of 61 legislators.
At below five percent female representation, this number is also far below the 50% women representation quota recommended by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Gender Protocol. Dr. Hobona joins Parliament in an election year, which once again throws the spotlight on the question of women’s representation in political office.
As various political parties unveil their parliamentary candidates in the run-up to the October 2014 general elections, the disparity in the numbers of men and women vying for political office becomes obvious. For instance, the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) currently has four women MPs. Two of them, Dorcas Makgato-Malesu and Dr. Gloria Somolekae, were brought into the House as specially elected MPs, although both have since contested the party’s primary elections.
While Makgato-Malesu won in her constituency (Tswapong South), Dr. Somolekae is expected to go for an election re-run following her appeal against the results in her constituency. Other than Makgato-Malesu, Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi (Serowe South), Botlhogile Tshireletso (Mahalapye East) and Sylvia Muzila (Francistown South) will also be vying for parliamentary seats under the BDP ticket, putting the number of women parliamentary hopefuls under the ruling party at only four.
The Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) has thus far unveiled only one-woman parliamentary candidate, Same Bathobakae, who will be contesting in Tlokweng. On the other hand, the BCP has thus far unveiled six women parliamentary hopefuls in Anna Motlhagodi (Gaborone-Bonnington), Motsei Rapelana (Gaborone North), Dr. Hobona (Francistown West), Mariah Kusasa (Tati East), Daydo Bathusi ( Boteti East) and Tiny Kojane (Mmathethe-Molapowabojang). But four decades after independence, why are women across the political divide still struggling to make it into political office? Moggie Mbaakanyi, president of the Botswana Caucus for Women in Politics (BCWP) credits lack of resources, cultural beliefs and the multiple roles burdening women as some of the reasons still hindering women from getting into political office.
“Politics is about money. Women are still not in control of their finances, even within their families. In some families, a woman is still regarded as a minor. To be a politician, a woman depends on support from their families,” she told Mmegi in an interview. She said women are also burdened by the multiple roles they have to perform, in addition to being a politician, which takes time from doing political work.
“As a politician, when I get home I have to be a wife, a mother, and a community leader. When I get home, while the man sits and watches television or reads a newspaper, the woman has to cook, has to make sure that the man’s clothes are ready for the following day,” she said.
She said this is compounded by Setswana cultural beliefs that dictate that women cannot lead despite the fact that it has been proven that women can be good leaders. She said because women are raised to manage the home, they become better managers even within politics and the corporate world. Further, she said, the first-past-the-post electoral system disadvantages women. Mbaakanyi said what can change representation of women in politics is a deliberate effort, within parties and nationally, to encourage female representation at all levels of politics. She said the BCPW would like an amendment of the constitution that would allow affirmative action to ensure a specific quota for women politicians.
She added that without amending the constitution, there is nothing that obliges the individual parties to enforce the affirmative action sentiments contained within individual parties’ manifestos. Mbaakanyi’s concerns regarding the amendment of the constitution ring true because even the ruling party, with the advantage of incumbency for decades and its resources, does not have a quota for the number of women they want in Parliament. BDP women expected their party's women’s wing to come up with a resolution that would enforce a quota, but that failed to come though during the party’s elective congress in 2011.
On the other hand, the BCP has a 30% quota. At the moment, with six women parliamentary hopefuls, the party has not met its own quota but it is yet to complete its primary elections. The UDC also has a 30% quota, which it is also yet to meet. Mbaakanyi said the need for an affirmative action programme is illustrated within parties themselves where women’s representation is lacking within parties’ central committees and women’s voices are only heard through the women’s wing.
In most cases when women make it to the CC, it is as additional members or specially nominated members. In the BDP, Venson-Moitoi came close to making history last year when she vied for the position of chairperson, which she lost to Moyo Guma. The BCP’s Rapelana made history when she was elected chairperson of the party as the first woman to head a political party in Botswana. At the Botswana National Front (BNF), Bathobakae, who holds the position of vice president of the party, is the first woman to hold that position. But women in these positions are still few and far in between. Reached for comment, the UDC’s Bathobakae said what firstly disadvantages women is Setswana culture because people uphold the belief that women cannot contest for high positions. She said some people still have difficulty in voting for a woman. The other reason that Bathobakae feels is a contributing factor is lack of funds, which she says continues to affect women seriously as constituencies are wide and they do not have resources to cover them. She said women are willing to contest for parliamentary seats in high numbers if they were going to be financed. The lack of women in parliament is not a new thing. The Parliament of Botswana was all male until 1974 when Dr. Gaositwe Chiepe and Kebatshabile Disele were brought into Parliament as specially elected members. In 1977, Dr. Chiepe was elected MP for Serowe South, becoming the first popularly elected woman MP.