Women in Botswana make up 54% of voters, but less than 10% of parliament: political parties can change that
Source: The Consersation
There’s a question that has consistently gripped Botswana’s politics: bomme ba kae? (where are the women?). It became even more urgent with the country’s 2024 general elections.
Only 28 women stood for parliament out of 258 contestants, representing 10.85%. Only three women won their seats. This represents 4.92% of the 61 seats. It’s a drop from 5.26% in the 2019 elections.
In Botswana, women make up 54% of the eligible voters. Yet few occupy the corridors of power, where decisions and policies that affect them are made.
The country has been praised for being a model democracy. One of the reasons is that it has held regular elections since independence in 1966.
There are, however, flaws in Botswana’s democracy. One is that women are woefully under-represented in government.
I am a scholar of public policy in southern Africa. I am also a proponent of equal representation of women, who are a marginalised majority. In my research I argue that women’s limited participation hinders the consolidation of democracy.
Read here the full article published by The Conversation on 13 December 2024.
Image by The Conversation
There’s a question that has consistently gripped Botswana’s politics: bomme ba kae? (where are the women?). It became even more urgent with the country’s 2024 general elections.
Only 28 women stood for parliament out of 258 contestants, representing 10.85%. Only three women won their seats. This represents 4.92% of the 61 seats. It’s a drop from 5.26% in the 2019 elections.
In Botswana, women make up 54% of the eligible voters. Yet few occupy the corridors of power, where decisions and policies that affect them are made.
The country has been praised for being a model democracy. One of the reasons is that it has held regular elections since independence in 1966.
There are, however, flaws in Botswana’s democracy. One is that women are woefully under-represented in government.
I am a scholar of public policy in southern Africa. I am also a proponent of equal representation of women, who are a marginalised majority. In my research I argue that women’s limited participation hinders the consolidation of democracy.
Read here the full article published by The Conversation on 13 December 2024.
Image by The Conversation