He suggested that an alternative could be to let the groom and bride's families exchange gifts to make bogadi neutral. Kedikilwe was speaking in Parliament during debate on the Domestic Violence Bill presented by the MP for Kweneng South, Gladys Kokorwe last Friday. The bill seeks to enact an act to provide for the protection of survivors of domestic violence and related matters.
Kedikilwe said bogadi has lost its original philosophy and is now open to abuse. He said with both families exchanging gifts, women would feel empowered. He said domestic violence is a sign of a society dominated by individualism where people are only concerned about their private affairs. He said in the past, people respected others in the community irrespective of whether they were rich or poor. There were societal sanctions (taboos); children would not misbehave before an older person because they regarded them as their parents. But nowadays, people do as they please in a society that has no moral guidelines. "We are failing to master what the earlier society of Batswana was able to master."
