Botswana: Equality & Empowerment Tokenism

Editorial from the Botswana Gazette:

Party leaders have a tendency of using women empowerment to push their own political agendas and their own mileage and women tend to be beguiled by these tactics which I strongly castigate. BDP prior to the Kanye congress had misunderstandings, and the President used women to fight his own battles, he was preaching women empowerment like a born-again Christian. If what he advocated was women empowerment he should have done it or said it plainly when he assumed power.

Tokenism means women are assisted to assume positions not because they are capable whatsoever, but because the appointers think women are weak and cannot beat men in terms of merit hence they need to be assisted. Appointment based on tokenism is not an indication of that woman’s true value and this is demeaning. Women should earn these positions even though we know our customs had long sidelined them from assuming decision making positions in society.