Laced with some of his wry humour and littered as usual with his lack of social sensibility, Khama sought to address those who had been clamouring for his attention regarding his lack of interest in marriage. As far as this coterie of paternalists is concerned, Khama's leadership ability is suspect because he does not have a wife. It is a flawed argument, of course, but then flawed arguments tend to gain popular traction. It is a shame that even the media has waded into the murky debate with some journalists even seeming to pile pressure on the bachelor-President to marry so as to become - finally - fit for office. We do not think his lack of a spouse is related in any way to his ability to rule. We think it is his critics who are showing a lack of mature reasoning. But Khama has not shied away from the debate and on that Saturday afternoon he sought to address it. He said he wanted a woman to marry, but that woman would have to be slim, tall and beautiful. He continued to describe some women whom he views as unpalatable. He used very ugly words. The nation has heard his words and there is no need to repeat them here. This story was carried on the national broadcaster, Botswana Television (Btv) and Khama was shown pointing at one female MP as a classic example of the kind of look he found repulsive. At that point women at the rally ululated. This must have been the lowest point in the whole history of the fight against "male oppression" in this country. Women ululating a president objectifying women? The women ululated as Khama showed an arrogant view of people outside of his own myopic view of what beauty is. Those women were happy weren't they? There was even one woman who suggested to Khama that he weds the young beauty, Emma Wareus - as if Wareus' views and interests were inconsequential. Which brings us to this week's commencement of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence. Experts have argued that gender-based violence is a product of a social and political reality. It has been shown that in paternalistic societies gender-based violence is nearly impossible to deal with until the very ideas from which oppressive men gain their flawed sense of God-given dominance over women comes. In other words, the struggle starts at exactly where Khama is located - right at the macho core of our paternalistic society. The question then is: Should average women, who have put their trust in the women in political leadership to further open space for the rights of women continue to watch women representatives indulge in such charades as that ululating session? Aren't those ululating women the same enablers of women's abuse as say police officers who refuse to react appropriately to a report of abuse?
Today's thought
