By Moses Magadza in New York, USA

Botswana’s Minister of Youth, Gender, Sport, and Culture, Ms Lesogo Chombo, has called for bold action to advance gender equality.

She was speaking on March 13^th as the 69th session of the Commission on the Status of Women convened in New York to assess the current conditions of women and girls globally.

The Minister made the call at a side event during the 69th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69) in New York, organised by the SADC Parliamentary Forum and Africa Renaissance and hosted by the Botswana High Commission in New York with funding from Sweden.

She was the main speaker in the session themed, ‘Reflecting on progress and forging new pathways to advance women’s and girls’ health and rights in Africa.’

Reflecting on Botswana’s progress since the 1995 Beijing Declaration, Minister Chombo highlighted the country’s strong legal reforms aimed at eliminating gender discrimination.

“Our journey started in 1995, and since then, Botswana has embarked on an intense legislative reform programme to remove discriminatory laws,” she said.

Key milestones include the Penal Code reforms of 1996, the Citizenship Act of 2003, the Abolition of Marital Powers Act of 2004, the Domestic Violence Act of 2008, and the Children’s Act of 2009.

More recently, she said, Botswana introduced the Sexual Offences Registry Act of 2021 and the Bail Act of 2024. She said these reforms were a testament to Botswana’s sustained commitment to protecting women and vulnerable groups.

Beyond legal reforms, she said Botswana has established institutions dedicated to gender equality. The Women’s Affairs Department, created in the early 2000s, evolved into the Gender Affairs Department in 2013 to ensure that both men and women contribute to gender equality. Additionally, the National Policy on Gender and Development, adopted in 2015, was guiding gender mainstreaming across sectors.

Botswana has also put in place specialised committees and institutions to combat gender-based violence (GBV) and human trafficking, including the Inter-Ministerial Committee on GBV, the Human Trafficking Prohibition Committee, and the National Human Rights Committee. The Botswana Police Service has established a Gender and Child Protection Branch to respond effectively to cases of violence.

Minister Chombo stressed the importance of education in achieving gender equality. She shared that Botswana achieved gender parity in education in 2010 and has maintained that position. The country provides ten years of free and compulsory basic education, which has led to an 87.12% literacy rate among females and 86.34% among males.

Additionally, the Minister said Botswana supports the reintegration of pregnant girls into schools, a programme that has benefited over 5,000 girls. The country is also pushing for greater participation of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), with the Botswana University of Science and Technology launching a mentorship programme to encourage girls to pursue careers in STEM fields.

Minister Chombo, at 26 years old, the youngest minister in Africa, emphasised the need for more young women in leadership. She noted that Botswana has set an example by appointing women to key leadership positions, including the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, the Minister of Finance, the Permanent Secretary to the President, and the Commissioners of Police and Prisons.

“My call to action for every president, every country, is simple: Make room for young women to lead when the time is right, and the time is now,” she urged.

On combating Cyber Violence and Gender-Based online harassment, she explained that Botswana had also taken initiative-taking steps to protect women in cyberspace. The Cyber Crime and Computer Related Crimes Act of 2018 inspired a Cyber Crime Unit within the Botswana Police Service to investigate and prosecute online gender-based violence.

The government has also set up a Cyber Crime Committee to coordinate efforts between the public and private sectors to enhance online safety.

Minister Chombo highlighted Botswana’s commitment to gender-responsive budgeting, noting that funding for gender programmes had significantly increased in the 2024 -2025 national budget.

Additionally, the creation of the Ministry of Youth and Gender Affairs under the current administration underscores Botswana’s dedication to bridging gender gaps.

Other panellists were Ms Prudence Gwenya, African Union Commission Director; SADC PF Secretary General Ms Boemo Sekgoma; Ms Laura Nyirinkindi, Chairperson, Working Group on Discrimination Against women and girls in the United Nations Human Rights Council; Ms Nagwa El Deeb, Member, Faith to Action Network;  Ms Yvette Katurima, Representative, CIFF; Ms Caroline Kwamboka, Moderator; Trustee/Director, Africa Renaissance Trust; and Hon Shally Raymond, Chairperson of the SADC PF RWPC.

• Moses Magadza is the Media and Communications Manager at SADC PF.