Violence against women is alive in Botswana

Days ago at work, a colleague confided to me how her teenage niece had, without an ounce of shame, announced to her that she planned to move out of the house and from her care in order to cohabit with a boyfriend. I watched as the aunt bawled her eyes out before locking herself up in the restroom to pray. By some coincidence, as I  was driving to work that same morning I was listening in to some programme on the radio on the issue of cohabitation.

Cohabitation, it would seem, is a fairly common practice- especially in towns and cities. Most people I know cohabit more for convenience than anything else. Unless you have a high paying job, are married or you are willing to rob a bank; getting decent accommodation in Gaborone is a real challenge for many people. The bad side of sharing for convenience is that people often lie about their living arrangements. But not once did I ever think even children could cohabitate.