Country Case Study: Botswana

Interplay of light and shadow

IPS 680

Advanced Gender and Development

Professor Nuket Kardam

Since its independence from Britain in 1966, Botswana has experienced radical economic growth and a successful transition to a democratic society. It is often seen as a democratic-development model for other developing countries in Africa. It is said that Botswana’s success is due to the country’s ability to maintain a multi-party system that includes an elaborate bill of rights, as reflected in the constitution and its principles of transparency and accountability to its civil society.

In terms of gender equality in Botswana, a strong women’s movement led the government to establish Women’s Affairs Department in 1981 and the government has ratified numerous international conventions on gender mainstreaming such as the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and ILO Conventions on Equal Remuneration for Men and Women and on Discrimination in Respect of Employment and Occupation. According with those conventions, Botswana has implemented a number of policies to promote women’s status in Botswana. Now nearly 20% of the members of Parliament and a quarter of the cabinet are women. 98.4% of children in Botswana have access to 10 years primary education and 52% of them are girls (United Nations, 2001).

However, while important steps have been taken by the government and NGOs, women in Botswana still face various constraints arising from gender stereotyping, traditional culture, practices, attitudes, and the absence of legal equality. Poverty of women, violence against women including rape, HIV/AIDS and orphans of AIDS victims, and teenage pregnancy are serious ramifications of gender discrimination in Botswana. Despite the gravity of this situation, however, because of its liberal and stable governance, Botswana’s human rights record associated with women has rarely drawn the international attention that has been directed at the other neighboring African countries where the governances are unstable and people are relatively poor.

What factors in Botswana push the state towards democracy and action for gender equality, and what factors obstruct gender discourse on the other hand?

There are several factors to be considered ? bureaucracy and elitism in political culture and traditional value of kinship and dialogue that serves as social links in civil society. When examining gender issues in Botswana, these factors allow us to gain insights into the fundamental structure in which those factors work, in both positive and negative ways.

This paper will briefly introduce the historical political and social background of Botswana, and use that as a basis on which to explain the global gender equality regime and the National Women’s Machinery in Botswana. Finally, the paper will explore two specific issues which are HIV/AIDS epidemic and violence against women in Botswana, and examine the government’s accountability by considering its response.　

At the time of its independence from Britain in 1966, Botswana was one of the poorest countries in the world. However, the discovery and exploitation of minerals, especially diamonds, led Botswana to the remarkable economic growth. Its growth of GNP per capita accounted for the averaged 8.4 percent per annum during the 1970s and the1980s, and Botswana entered the rank of middle-income countries in 1998 with GDP per capita of US$3,080 (UNCTAD/UNDP, 2000).

Botswana’s success, however, rests not only on its natural resources, but also on the government’s superior performance in a capitalist economy. Surrounded by land-locked semi-arid environment, Botswana’s economy had historically heavily depended on South Africa for the transportation of mineral exports and imports of nearly all commodities (New Internationalist, 1987). In order to reduce the economic influence of South Africa and support its own market economy, the government emphasized developing its bureaucratic apparatus and human resources on a professional basis as well as instituting a liberal set of economic policies. Merit-oriented rewards and professional conduct thus became the core feature of the government (Samatar, 1997).

Two related factors made Botswana’s capitalist development possible: disciplined political leadership and accountability. Botswana’s civil servants were very professional, and thus the government was relatively autonomous from political interventions. The leaders in the cabinet built up rigid framework of development policy, capable state machinery, and the bureaucracy consequently created a relatively stable political environment in which elitists could perform in deploying the mechanism for implementation (Samatar, 1997).

When it comes to civil society, Botswana’s social culture is based on Tswana customs, which value principles of dialogue and unity or kinship. Contrary to other neighboring countries in Africa, Botswana’s political stability rests partly on the absence of ethnic conflict. It stresses a culture of dialogue, which has been central to conflict resolution and prevention (FIDA AFRICA, 2000). The value of unity in Botswanan society also has united tribes and strengthened the social community. The principle of unity is often seen in the spirit of cooperation among Botswana’s women’s movements. It is obvious that their dialogue and unity, as well as Botswana’s economic growth have mobilized people and accelerated its transition toward democracy.

In Botswana, women’s movements have been active since its independence. A number of women NGOs were formed which take instrumental roles in spreading gender equality in society. Some of the major NGOs are The Botswana Council of Women (formed in 1965), The Young Women’s Christian Association (formed in 1962), Methaelsile Information Centre, Women Against Rape (WAR), and Emang Basadi (formed in the 1980s) (UNCTAD/UNDP, 2000). In the 1970s and 1980s, their activities were focused on the economic empowerment of women, such as income generation, skills development, education, and other forms of socio-economic development along with women’s empowerment around the world (Women’s Affairs Department, 1999).

Meanwhile, the effort of the government to establish the prominent bureaucracy and development machinery on a professional basis bore fruit during the first five to ten years after independence. As a result, capitalist development became a reality in the 1970s and the 1980s　(Samatar, 1997). This radical economic growth led Botswana to its democratization and globalization.

The government of Botswana recognized that its sustained progress in national development efforts required the maximum participation of women and men in all sphere of economic and social development. Women are also important human resources whose potential capabilities should be enhanced. With this recognition, the government established the Women’s Affairs Division in the Ministry of Labor and Home Affairs in 1981. In 1997 and 1998, it was upgraded to a fully-fledged government department as the Women’s Affairs Department and now is located within the Department of Culture and Social Welfare. Prior to 1981, while the Ministry of Labor and Home Affairs catered to women’s needs, the Director of Sports and Cultural Activities had assumed responsibility for coordinating all NGO’s activities (newafrica.com, Botswana Handbook, 1999). The growing needs of women and increasing NGO involvement required the new institution, which would exclusively take responsibility for women’s issues.

The establishment of the National Women’s Machinery provided a place of dialogue and served as a channel of collaboration between the state and civil society (Kardam, 1999). In the 1980s, women’s organizations shifted their strategies and emphasized legal equality and human rights. After the Nairobi Conference in 1985, women’s movements in Botswana became more active (Women’s Affairs Department, 1999).

Since the beginning of Women’s Affairs Development, it has developed a strong relationship with NGOs and women’s groups. Members from NGOs were and still are involved in development programs, as well as social welfare matters. NGOs take charge of specific areas such as CORDE through “women and poverty”, Emang Basadi through “women in decision-making”, WLSA and Methhaetsle through legal equality and “violence against women and human rights”. In a collaborative effort to build on advocacy base ineach area, the Women’s Affairs Department and NGOs have become mutually supportive.

The relationship between the Women’s Affairs Machinery and Women’s NGOs Council that coordinates women’s organizations activities in Botswana developed in the 1990s in preparation for the United Nations Beijing Conference (1995).

Around that time, the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and end of the East-West conflict engendered a new concept in international society. It was “democratization, participation by civil society, good governance, and respect for human rights.”(Kardam, 2002) The absence of east-west agendas in international conventions and ethnic conflicts after the collapse of the Soviet Union drew global concern on human rights and integrated women’s issues into a human rights framework (Kardam, 2002). Agendas in the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio (1992), the UN Human Rights Conference in Vienna (1993), and the UN Conference on Population and Development in Cairo (1994) respectively embraced gender perspective in order to accomplish social and global goals.

In 1996, the next year of the Beijing Conference, the Botswanan government ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Democracy based on convergence of economic growth and movements among civil society in Botswana was timely and justified, with surging waves of support for the international gender equality regime. Alvares (1999) explains:

Still in the process of transition, Botswana adopted CEDAW and it is the resulted of constructive collaboration between the state and civil society.

For a government which had been promoting democracy and economic globalization, the ratification of CEDAW had other implications. As Kardam (2000) explained in her article, under a certain level of pressure, the incentive to save face on the international stage possibly prompted the state to make the decision. As a democracy-development model nation which had achieved spectacular economic growth, it took the opportunity to participate in the international community. As a result of its liberal economic policies and globalization, after the peak in the 1980s the growth of GNP per capita began to stay stagnate averaging 1.7% per annum in the 1990s, and as a result of economic globalization, the feminization of poverty was becoming serious concern in Botswana (UNCTAD/UNDP, 2000). To ratify the convention meant to send a signal to the international society as well.

Although Botswana submitted Questionnaire, it did not submit a country report, which a state is obligated to do for the Committee on CEDAW within one year of ratification and subsequently every four years. The government also did not ratify the Optional Protocol, which requires acknowledging the competence of the Committee to accept complaints from individuals or groups within its jurisdiction. It might reflect the government’s bureaucracy and professional elitism, which imply its tendency to avoid intervention. Against a backdrop of abundant resources and liberal policies, Botswana has not suffered from balance of payment crises and has not had to accept a World Bank and IMF structural adjustment programme (UNCTAD/UNDP). The fact is that Botswana has not received drastic intervention from international organizations until very recently.

In the same year of the ratification of CEDAW, the government launched The National Policy on Women in Development, whose draft was already completed in 1988 and revised in 1993. The main goal of this policy is “to achieve effective integration and empowerment of women in order to improve their status, enhance participation in decision making and role in the development process.” The policy specifically aims the elimination of all economic, social and legal practices that discriminate against women, at improving women’s health, promoting education and skilled training, and mainstreaming gender in development.

The government also launched The National Programme Framework in 1997 which had been prepared for the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing in 1995, and it aimed to translate gender discourse into concrete strategies regarding the various policies on women. It developed with a National Plan of Action and identifies six of twelve critical areas of concern in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action: 1)Women and Poverty, including Women’s Economic Empowerment, 2)Women in Power and Decision-Making, 3)Education and Training of Women, 4)Women and Health, 5)Violence against Women, 6)The Girl-Child, as a cross-cutting area. This year, the government also ratified ILO Conventions on Equal Remuneration for Men and Women and on Discrimination in Respect of Employment and Occupation.

While the government has adopted the international gender equality regime into national priority and set up policy frameworks, the laws in Botswana have changed little and have been received criticism from NGOs and gender advocates. Botswana has a dual legal system comprising of Customary Law and Common Law, and both include laws which discriminate women or under which women are subordinate to men. Under the Common Law, the husband has the power in their marriages and women cannot bring or answer legal proceedings without the assistance of their husbands, even when he is himself implicated. Furthermore, Customary Law does not allow women independent legal capacity irrespective of their age. They are subjected to the guardianship of their fathers, brothers, or uncles and to their husband when they are married.

However, with continuing efforts of women’s group and NGOs, some progress has been made. In 1995, some sections of the Citizenship Act were repealed and replaced with gender neutral provisions. The affiliation Proceeding Act of 1973 was amended in 1999. Prior to the amendment, the act obliged fathers to pay a maximum of only 40 pula per month for child support. In Botswana, female-headed households make up 63% of households with no cash earning members and men’s parental desertions have hindered the economic empowerment of women (UNDP, 2001). The amended state laws provide for equal maintenance of their child at minimum of 100 pula per month. The 1991 Amendment to the Penal Code was an attempt to legitimate abortion. It is now provided that women can legally terminate their pregnancies within sixteen weeks- however only when 1) the pregnancy is the result of rape, defilement or incest, 2) there is a risk to the life or physical/mental health of the pregnant women, 3) there is a risk that the child be disabled. Teenage pregnancy is one of the serious problems in Botswana and unsafe abortions have threatened their lives.

Although Botswana Court of Appeal decision held those provisions unconstitutional and contrary to international human rights standards in 1992, laws and practices still continue to discriminate women and further impede women’s participation in decision-making in every sphere of political, economic, social, and domestic life.

In 1998 the Women’s Affairs Department reviewed all laws and their effect on women. While the report provides a basis on which the government can change the legal instruments and practice which undermine women’s status, such institutional intervention is rather slow and still in process.

While the government has since demonstrated visible measures such as each organization’s commitment to gender mainstreaming since the establishment the National Women’s Machinery, the status of Botswanan women has changed little or even become worse in particular areas. Women in Botswana now confront new problems. What factors generate gap between the government and civil society?

First, as many scholars point out, it is the government bureaucracy. Kardam (2002) argues that procedures of bureaucratic government are control-oriented which include project proposal or report writing rather than radical policies, and thus tend to lack the flexibility and responsiveness which are required for a new area such as gender equality. Also, challenging gender relations entrenched in social structure is a long-term process whose efforts and results are relatively invisible. Therefore, the government tends to adopt measures such as monitoring and verification rather than concrete actions to address gender relations directly (Kardam, 2002). The establishment of public institutions, such as National Women’s Department, which has all responsibility for gender-related issues, prevents public complaints and political intervention toward the central government.

Another factor is characteristic of the National Women’s Machinery, that is, its political location in the government. Like most of National Women’s Machineries in other countries, the Women’s Affairs Department in Botswana is under-resourced. In 1998 and 1999, the Women’s Affairs Machinery was allocated a budget of about p6.6million which is 1% of the total national budget. Otherwise, the budget relies on funds from a bilateral donor, Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) and multilateral donors, UNDP and UNIFEM. The limited resource allocation constrains the institution’s effort to integrate gender equality in its policy process.

Institutionalizing a variety of structures and mechanisms at the state level is more than necessary for gender mainstreaming. It could not be fulfilled where the commitment is solely located in a single governmental body (Kardam, 2002). The Women’s Affairs Department is to facilitate the full involvement and integration of women in the national policy, and women’s issues are still recognized as the exclusive responsibility of it. The National Women’s Machinery states in the Questionnaire submitted to the Committee on CEDAW that there is no agreement on respective roles and responsibilities of various government departments. It was shown that only three ministries in the government have Gender Focal Points (GFPs).

As the Questionnaire shows, the Women’s Affairs Department analyzes from an objective perspective the structural problems which hider implementation of policies on women, and recognizes the necessity of institutional change and internal / external collaboration. The Women’s Affairs Machinery developed the Advocacy and Social Mobilisation Strategy for the National Gender Programme in 1999, and established the Botswana National Council on Women (BNCW). The Council functions as the highest advisory body to the government, women’s NGOs, the private sector, and civil society on all matters relating to women. It also serves as a think tank on gender and development policy identifying gaps, developing strategies, and suggesting new areas for program development. It represents a wide cross-section of organizations, therefore it is able to more independently work with the government.

UNDP launched the first Programme Support Document for Gender in Botswana which started in 1997 and lasted until 2000. This program aimed to support training and capacity building within the areas of: 1) Strengthening understanding of Gender and Development among policy makers and planners, 2) Institutional Strengthening at national level, 3) Institutional Strengthening of civil society organizations, 4) Strengthening the economic and political empowerment of women, 5) Strengthening the capacity for applied research and management information systems. It has been continued with a new focus on Human Rights and Violence Against Women & Children.

The HIV/AIDS epidemic is the deadliest emergency in Botswana. Despite its prosperity, Botswana has the highest prevalence rate of HIV in the world. Botswana recorded the first AIDS case in 1985 and the number of reported case began to increase immensely in the early 1990s (UNAID/WHO). Now 38.8% of adults aged 15 to 49 are infected with HIV virus (STOP-AIDS). When it comes to women, infection rates for females were 26.7% among 15 to 19 years olds, 43.6% for 20 to 24 years old, and 53.2% for 25-29 years olds (aflrol). This rate projects that one out of every two women in their twenties are infected HIV/AIDS. In major areas, more than 30% of all pregnant adolescent women are HIV infectors and one in eight infants is infected at birth (Medical Advocates For Social Justice). A study shows life expectancy will fall to 36 by 2005(STOP-AIDS).

The epidemic of HIV/AIDS in Botswana is now threatening its social and economic development and has significant effects on many issues such as poverty, education, and orphans. 　　　　

The report of country’s education reveals that schools in Botswana are losing many teachers to HIV/AIDS and children, especially girls are forced to drop out school due to helping households or taking care of family members with illness. Widespread sexual activities among the youth also threaten young people at the highest risk of lives.

AIDS orphans are Botswana’s highest population of youth-at-risk as well. The number of orphans who lost their mothers or both parents to HIV/AIDS is 69,000 which has increased 2.5 times since 1997 with 28,000 orphans and could rise to 120,000 by 2010 (STOP-AIDS). They have no access to basic human needs such as food, clothing, shelter, and education. Even if they are fortune to be adopted by caregiver, mostly extended families, overburdened domestic responsibilities in new homes prevent children from school.

Another study of the impact of HIV/AIDS on the economy estimates that the country’s GDP would be as much as 38% percent less by 2021, if concrete actions are not taken in order to prevent HIV/AID epidemic (STOP-AIDS).

The Botswana government’s response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic includes: the establishment of various bodies, such as National AIDS Committee (NAC, launched in 2000) which is chaired by the president, and the National AIDS Coordinating Agency (NACA) which implement AIDS related programs; the provision of funds for AIDS education, training, research, and programs; the distribution of free male condoms in public space such as clinic, bars, and hospitals; the distribution of anti-retroviral drugs.

Regarding the provision of free male condoms in public place, in Botswana where culture emphasizes women’s subordinate status and violence against women including domestic rape or marital rape is nationwide, this is not enough to protect women from HIV/AIDS infection. Furthermore, while Botswana is the first African country that introduced anti-retroviral treatment, the drugs are available in only four places. Therefore many patients do not have access to it. Only patients who qualify will be eligible for the therapy.

Despite its financial resource which many other developing countries lack, the response of the Botswana government had little impact on AIDS prevention. After two decades since the first case of HIV/AIDS was reported, the government has been criticized of its poor implementation of policies on this issue.

First, the government’s high-level officials have only recently begun to take initiatives in addressing to HIV/AIDS as a national priority. This is largely rest to denial, manifestation, and generally less awareness of the epidemic. Initial government response to the epidemic was slow so that AIDS has already done significant damage to social and economic development in this country.

Second, in terms of orphans, responsibility for AIDS within the government was not well defined. Both The Ministry of Health and the Social Welfare Division of the Ministry of Local Government, Land and Housing deal with this issue. The separate jurisdiction between two ministries has made it difficult to organize a national effort.

Finally, the policy on HIV/AIDS was excessively health centered rather than drastic measures addressing to poverty and gender-based violence and unchanged sexual behavioral norm which are responsible to widespread HIV/AIDS infection.

Meanwhile local NGOs in the civil society, bilateral and multilateral NGOs have played significant role in addressing issues of HIV/AIDS. For example, the Community Solutions agency equips women with sexual reproductive health education including sexual rights and life skills such as sex negotiations. The Women’s shelter and Metlhaetsile women’s information center created public awareness about HIV/AIDS with pamphlets or books they produced. They also provided legal and counseling services to women who survive from both violence and HIV.

Among international NGOs, the Center for Disease Control (CDC), and American based agency, collaborates with the government of Botswana, and launched a program called BOTUSA. This program is responsible to establishment of Voluntary Counseling Testing Centers and so far fifteen centers are in operation countrywide. The Human People to People organization also has a program with the government to provide people with education about HIV on a house to house basis.

Against background of the fruitless implementation of Botswana’s policies including National Policy on HIV/AIDS (1993), the national multi-sectoral strategic plan (1996) and Medium Term PlanⅠ(1989-1997), UNDP in Botswana started to systematically engage with the Botswana government in formulating upstream policy interventions and institutional capacity building for HIV/AIDS strategies in 1998. The objectives of this program are: 1) through research and advocacy, establishing a common consensus on the significance of the HIV/AIDS issues and pose it as the threat to the economy and the stability of the society. 2) getting the government to prioritize HIV/AIDS in prevention of spread of HIV, mitigation of the effects of HIV/AIDS, and provision of more public resources to HIV/AIDS programmes. 3) supporting to improve policy and programme, implementation and monitorning and evaluation on HIV/AIDS program.

As a result of this advocacy program, the government of Botswana launched Information Education and Communication (IEC) campaign in 2001, which targets all sectors of the society and encourage social mobilization against the disease. This campaign also includes house-to-house survey in three towns to identify needs of AIDS care and education about the disease.

Violence against women including rape, incest, defilement, and domestic violence is also prevalent in Botswana. According to the research conducted by the Botswana government, 60% of all women have been victims of violence within last 5 years and one out of four of them have been multiple suffered. It is also estimated that every 12 minutes a women is raped (Speak Out!, 2000).

In　many cases of gender-based violence, however, women do not report because of their shame. The fact is that an average of only two cases of rate are reported a day (Speak Out!, 2002). Even if they run into police for help, police dose not take seriously as a domestic matters. The cases are often withdrawn by police, their husband, or suspects before they are heard in courts. Nevertheless the judiciary system spends at least 30% of their time on cases involving violence against women. The conviction rate of 23% in 1982, however, dropped to 20% in 1997　(Speak Out!, 2002).

Although Botswana criminal law involves many of legal provisions dealing with this issue, it is not adequate to prevent violence against women (Molokomme). Under the customary law and traditional culture, men have the legal right to ‘chastise’ their wives. Therefore women have come to believe violence is a natural part of relationship between men and women. While criminal law does not distinguish domestic violence form violence from strangers, women also feel that the abuse is their fault (Davies, 1997). These law system and culture have contributed to dismissal of domestic violence as a family matters not requiring prosecution.

While the Botswana government stated the commitment to address gender-based violence, very little is being done to prevent the violence or to protect victims. The Women’s Affairs Department concluded in National Gender Programme Framework (1998) that despite the escalation of male violence there are no adequate programs to respond to the problems and needs of victims and perpetuators.

In this issue area, as other areas, NGOs have assumed an important role. Local NGOs such as Emang Basadi, Metlhaetsile, Women Against Rape have worked with the Police to bring about change in police procedure and awareness of gender-based violence. Instead of blaming the Police, they documented a number of domestic violence cases which were mishandled by the Police and submitted to the Police Commissioner. The Police Commissioner immediately set up a task force to investigate the complaints (Women’s Affairs Department, 1999) and re-arrested 22 cases (Speak Out!, 2002). NGOs then initiated to consult with the Task Force aimed at producing a new police protocol and domestic violence law (Women’s Affairs Department, 1999).

In addition, communities organized neighborhood watch teams which hired security guard to patrol the area. In business sector, the conference was held to discuss what measures the business community could take to prevent domestic violence (Speak Out!, 2002).

In response to increasing social movement and pressure from NGOs, amended rape laws came into force in 1998 whose sentences are replaced to gender neutral, expands the definition of rape, includes minimum sentencing for rape and defilement and HIV testing for those convicted, and denies accused rapists the bail (Speak Out!, 2002). In 1998, the Parliament also enacted legislation that increases all penalties for rape, incest, and other forms of sexual assault. It gives maximum period of sentence of twenty years if the offender is HIV positive and knows of his or her HIV status (Speak Out!, 2000). As the draft of Domestic Violence Bill has hailed to go though parliament in 1999, the government is now on the process of its formulation (Financial Times, 2001).

Another severe issue that hardly comes to the surface and is intertwined with other problems is sexual-harassment against girls in schools. The government placed great emphasis on education since its independence, and now the majority of children receive 10 years of free basic education. However, ironically, the higher enrollment of girls in school, unchanged behavioral norm, and gender discrimination caused the harsh effects on girls’ education and lives.

The study conducted by UNICEF and Roberta Rivers of RCR Association suggests that 60% of secondary school students in Botswana are abused by their teachers. Among them, at least 11% of students, mainly girls, are thinking of dropping out school due to sexual harassment. In some cases, 17% of girls questioned have been asked by teachers to have sex with them and accepted (Davies). In many cases their parents and head teachers of schools connive. Some students were encouraged into the relationship by their parents for financial reasons (Molokomme). The survey also acknowledged that girls did not admit or report out of fear for reputation or lower grade. There is also no procedure for lodging complaints within schools. Under centralized education system, girls would have to travel hundreds of kilometers to the nearest education office in order to report the case.　While violence against women has become condemned in public, sexual harassment remains one of its most acceptable forms. Therefore sexual harassment in schools is considered “unreported crime” (Davies), and head teachers and teachers who abused girls remain in their positions.

Widespread sexual harassment in schools in Botswana contributes high rate of teenage-pregnancy (23%) (Davies, 1998), dropout of education, prevalent HIV/AIDS among girls, and vicious circle of poverty. Although the government recognizes sexual harassment or consensual sexual relations as life threatening due to the rapid spread of HIV/AIDS, no concrete action has been taken so far. Contrary to other sexual violence such as rape, incest and sexual harassment have not been documented. The country’s code of conduct for teachers, which was produced in 1974, has never been reviewed and makes no provisions on sexual harassment or consensual sexual relations (Davies). Currently the Ministry’s secondary schools department is in the process of counseling with NGOs on a policy covering sexual harassment. Also it plans to establish step by step procedure for lodging complaints within schools and review the teachers’ code of conduct to provide the protection of students (Davies).

A number of NGOs, on the other hand, carry out advocacy social mobilization and counseling programmes for girls.

Women Against Rape (WAR) provides education, counseling, legal support and moral support to girls. It also runs workshops in school to sensitize teachers and students on the issue of girls’ abuse. In the workshops, students learn their rights and methods to escape form an abusive attack. Open question and answer sessions and close consultative sessions are also taken place. Women Against Rape took up the issues with higher authorities within the Ministry of Education and proceeded to file the cases with Metlhaetsile Women’s information Centre. Metlhaetsile Women’s information Centre provides education, counseling, and legal assist in cases in this issue (Davies).

At this time, most efforts of International NGOs are focused on HIV/AIDS rather than violence against women. Therefore, local NGOs that address issues of both gender based violence and sexual harassment are facing serious financial constraints. Especially in the late 1990s, a number of international donor agencies stop funding several NGOs because of Botswana’s relatively wealth economic condition compared to that of other African countries (Maundeni).

I subtitled this paper “interplay of light and shadow”. It is because researching gender issues in Botswana, I found some kind of irony in this country, which is the gap between county’s reputation due to its brilliant success and the real situations of women in Botswana hidden behind its success.

Rapid economic growth and stable governance rendered Botswana a model of democracy-development. The Botswana government has made it possible by establishing strong bureaucracy and developing professional elitism. From the beginning of its history, the Botswana government has set the broad and visible contours for public service and shown its accountability. Once the government outspoken high-level response to national issues, such as launching policy framework or establishing institutions, the government is recognized as accountable to civil society, even if it is not followed with concrete actions addressing gender relations. These measures has engendered great gap between national policies and civil society. It is proven that there are huge gap between reputations of Botswana among international governmental organizations and critique from NGOs and media.

Fortunately, Botswana has another strong group of actors who support democracy from the below, civil society. Furthermore, the National Women’s Machinery in Botswana, Women’s Affairs Department has deep insight into gender equality regime and has built a sound relationship with women’s NGOs. Those two important actors have tried to fill the gap between the government and civil society. Their grass-root activities reflect precious legacy of traditional principle, unity and dialogue in Botswana.

HIV/AIDS, poverty of women, violence against women, teenage pregnancy, and gender-based abuse in school, all attribute to inherently patriarchal culture which undermines the status of women. As long as culture continues to play a role in perpetuating women’s subordinate status, or unless the state and its civil society address in their collaboration to gender discrimination deeply entrenched in social structure, those problems would never be solved. It is obvious that the Botswana government’s concrete initiative holds a key of national fate.

As lessons learned, when examining gender accountability of a certain country, it is necessary to carefully consider characteristic of the government and political position of National Women’s Machinery, as well as materials from IGOs, NGOs, and media.

Reference

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Davies, C. Majority of Students Molested By Teachers in Botswana. Inter Press Service

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Kardam, N., & Acuner, S. National women’s machineries: structures and spaces

STOP-AIDS.com. from the World Wide Web: http://www.stop-aids.com/

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