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CHAPTER 5

WOMEN IN DEVELOPMENT

The Roles Of Women In Traditional Societies

Traditional societies are patriarchal (ie. ruled and controlled by men) hence women
occupied a peripheral role in all aspects of life. This had the following impact on
women:

 Women were not allowed to own property eg. Land or livestock.

 They were not allowed to hold any leadership positions.
 They were regarded as property that could be exchanged for bride price ie.
source of wealth.
 They were regarded as a very important source of labour. (Mosadi tshwene o
jewa mabogo). – did 95% of domestic work; did 80% of the agricultural
work; helped to take care of livestock eg. Goats and sheep; fetched firewood;
community work like helping neighbours, at funerals, looking after the aged or
sick.
 They had to bear children for the husband, family and tribe.

Traditional Beliefs About Women

 Women should be obedient to men, especially their husbands. Men were

always right.
 Women could not be leaders because they are weak or too emotional.
 Women are less intelligent than men.
 Women should not own property; could only do so through their husbands or
sons.
 Women are physically weak to perform heavy duties eg. Construction
 Through marriage (paying of bride price) meant women had to be totally
subservient to their husbands.
 Men had the right to discipline errant women ie. physical abuse.
 Women were judged by the number of children they bore ie. Women were
regarded as childbearing machines.

The impact of these beliefs on women

 Women remained poor with no property or wealth.

 The traditional laws passed by men oppressed women.
 Girls were not sent to school when education was introduced by colonialism.
 It was rare or unheard of to have female leaders.
 Physical abuse of women was the norm.
 Most women suffered from poor health or even died because of bearing too
many children.
 Women remained docile because they had been made to believe that they had
to play a secondary role to men. Even to this day women still have this
mentality.
 Women could not inherit the husband’s property after his death.
 Women could not claim custody of the children. Only males were allowed to
do so.
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
 Women could be inherited, after the death of their husbands, by the man’s
relatives.
The Impact Of Colonialism On Women

(a) Education
 Women were not sent to school and they remained largely illiterate.
 However in some societies women were sent to school because parents
thought it was not that important for boys e.g. in Botswana.
 Professions for women remained limited mostly to teaching, nursing, and
office work e.t.c.
 Education exposed women to a lot of valuable information e.g. health,
contraception, nutrition e.t.c.

(b) Land ownership/entitlement

 Colonialism did not improve the status of women in rural areas in terms of
property ownership.
 Traditional laws and practices still applied.
 However women could buy land in towns if they had the capital.

(c) Wages and employment

 Colonial wages were generally low very for both men and women.
 However, women were paid lower wages than men, even if they were doing
the same job.
 Women, it was believed, did not need the money since their husbands would
look after them.
 Women were never promoted to supervise men.
 Women professionals were heavily taxed than men.

(d) Migrant labour

The migrant labour system brought a lot of suffering for African women.

 Women were not allowed to live with their husbands in towns, mines, farms,
or plantations.
 Women were forced to assume double roles i.e. both fatherly and motherly
duties thus doubling their workload.
 Marriages broke down leaving them as single parents.
 Less food produced leading to malnutrition and starvation in rural families.
 Migrant workers brought back diseases and infected their wives e.g. S.T.D’s,
T.B. etc.
 Women still had to wait for husbands to make important decisions e.g. sending
children to school, marriage, developments etc.

(e) Introduction of cash crops/commercial farming

When cash crops such as cotton, sunflower, coffee, cocoa etc. were introduced to
African farmers it had some negative impact on women.

This meant:
 More agricultural work for women ie. tending to both food and cash crops.
 They became exposed to more dangerous agricultural chemicals eg. Pesticides
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
 All the income earned from cash crops sales went to men.

(f) Triple oppression

During colonialism the oppression of women became worse. They were oppressed in
three ways;
 As colonial subjects ie. conquered people with no rights.
 As black people ie. racism
 As women by men. In fact the black men usually vented their frustrations and
anger on the weak and defenceless black women through violence, divorce,
desertions etc.

Position Of Women In Today’s Society

Although women make more than half the World’s population they still face
enormous obstacles in trying to uplift themselves. Women still face the following
problems:

 They do 75% of the world’s work in the form of domestic, agricultural, paid
employment and community work.

 They earn only one tenth of the world’s wages because:

Most of the work they do is either unpaid or they are paid less
Mostly work part time since they have to also look after
children/family.
 Women generally hold lower positions at the workplace, which
command lower wages.
 Most women lack confidence (self esteem) to demand what is due to
them.
 Very few women are members of trade unions, which would protect
their rights. They are easily intimidated by employers into not joining
trade unions.
 Women own only one hundredth (1/100) of the world’s wealth because:
 The majority of the women live in rural areas where they are not
allowed to own property
 On getting married they give up all rights of ownership to their
husbands. Whatever wealth they help to accumulate belongs to the
man.
 Women do not have access to capital or credit. Those who have access
cannot obtain loans unless they seek approval from their spouses.
 Very few women occupy top paying jobs.
 Men own most and all the world’s biggest businesses.
 Leadership
 women are still not allowed to lead societies. There are still very few
female leaders in business, politics and societies eg. Female M.P.’s,
Business executives, chiefs etc.
 Education
 The majority of women are still illiterate or have low levels of
education.
 Widespread poverty means that mostly boys are sent to schools at the
expense of girls.
 Women have no skills or training hence mostly used as cheap labour in
factories.
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 High levels of dropouts because of pregnancy due to ignorance of sex

education or lack of contraceptives.


 Contraception and the health of the woman
 In most traditional societies contraception is a taboo. This means that
women have large families and this threatens their health or well-
being.
 In fact large families are still encouraged because children are a source
of labour for agriculture; source of male prestige ie. they prove man’s
virility; source of social security in old age (ie pension); add to the
tribe’s numbers.
 Religion also frowns upon contraception eg. Catholics, Moslems etc.

 Legal rights
 In most societies women have no laws protecting them from social,
political and economic abuse.

Policies And Programmes Which Uplift Women In Botswana

Definition of terms
 Emancipation of women
 Women’s liberation
 Affirmative action
 Equal rights
(a) Access to owning property
 women are now allowed and protected by law to own property in Botswana
 The Land Boards give equal access to land to both men and women
 Women can now operate businesses, cattle posts, own houses etc.

(b) Access to credit/capital (economic empowerment)

 Women can now obtain loans to start their own businesses from financial
institutions
 In Botswana the Financial Assistance Policy (F.A.P.) gave women 15% more
grants than men for the same project.
 There are various programmes which try to empower women with business
skills through training courses.

(c) Equal access to education

 Universal free education for all Batswana has enabled more females to attend
schools and become educated.
 In fact there are more women in schools than males eg. 52% of enrolment is
females in Botswana.
 Training of skills is also biased toward women since now they can be trained
in almost anything they desire

(d) Equal access to work/jobs

 Women can now compete on an equal basis for jobs.

 There is also an equal pay for same jobs irrespective of gender. The tax system
is also uniform.
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 There is affirmative action in promotions for female civil servants ie. a
deliberate policy to promote women into leadership positions.

(e) Leadership
 Women now occupy leadership positions in all aspects of life eg. Politics,
business, government, society etc
 However women leaders are still in the minority compared to men despite the
fact that women are in the majority in the population.

(f) Women’s rights groups

 These are organisations, which fight for or promote the equal treatment of
women in all spheres of life eg. Emang Basadi, Metlaetsile etc
 The women’s groups are now recognised by the government.
 They are mostly involved in fighting for:

 Economic rights for women ie. equal access to capital, equal pay etc.
 Political rights ie. equal representation in all aspects of life
 Cultural equality ie. the removal of traditional laws and practices
which oppress women e.g polygamy, inheritance, property rights etc.
 Public awareness in the form of educational campaigns to make
women aware of their rights and also teaching the general public about
women’s rights. Mostly done through publications, radio, television,
seminars, workshops etc.

(g) Other methods of improving the status of women

Reducing the women’s workload through the following improvements:

 Crèches/day care centres to liberate women from child care activities

 Better technology in agriculture eg tractors, planters, harvesters etc
 Domestic appliances to reduce work eg. Vacuum cleaners, washing machines,
dishwashers etc
 Piped water to cut the distance travelled in search of water.
 Alternative sources of energy to eliminate the search for firewood eg. Gas,
electricity etc.
Emerging Roles of Women

Today women’s status has improved:

- They have access to credit schemes e.g. F.A.P., C.E.D.A. etc. They can set up
businesses and own property. The Land Board gives women equal access to
land
- They hold leadership positions e.g. in schools, members of parliament,
cabinet, etc. However, women leaders are still in the minority despite the fact
that they form the majority of the population.
- Girls are allowed to go to schools and follow the same curriculum as boys.
Women can now train in almost any field they desire just like their male
counterparts.
- Laws have been passed to ensure that women are not oppressed or
discriminated against
- Women now make decisions concerning family planning. They are free to talk
to their husbands about how many children they would like to have. As a
result, families nowadays are generally smaller
- Some women prefer to have single-parent families. This has led to an increase
in female-headed families. This has been facilitated by educational,
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professional and economic independence by women, the right to property
ownership, women’s rights, etc.
- Women now do same jobs as men, i.e. they can now compete on an equal
platform with men for a job. There is also an equal pay for same jobs
irrespective of gender. However, they still occupy low paying jobs such as
home maids, secretaries, etc.

The role played by women in the politics of southern

Africa
Pre-independence

Women played very important roles in the political set-up of southern African
communities.
 They occasionally ruled as queens even though most rulers were men e.g.
Queen Mantatisi of Batlokwa.
 In some countries such as Kenya, Mozambique, Angola & Namibia, women
took part in the struggle for independence & often fought side by side with
men.
 Some women leaders even fought against colonial conquest e.g. Queen
Ndinga of Angola against Portuguese.
 Women were also arrested, murdered & even shot during the
struggle/resistance against colonialism. During wars for independence women
provided hide – outs or protection for guerillas or freedom fighters. They
provided the freedom fighters vital information on enemy movements. They
also nursed the wounded soldiers & provided food & water for the armies.

 In South Africa, women like Mrs. Winnie Mandela and Mrs. R. Sobukwe led
other women against discriminatory apartheid laws. They instigated other
women to stage demonstrations/marches and in the long run formed Women’s
Movements.
 Women formed over 25% of the cadres of the Zimbabwean African National
Union Liberation (RAWLA)

In other parts of Africa, women constituted a significant proportion of the liberation

army e.g. in the Ethiopian revolution of 1991 women constituted 30% of the
liberation army. At independence the traditional view about women’s roles had been
changed/challenged.
The liberation struggle changed people’s lives. Women had proved that they could do
such jobs as fighting, repairing cars or taking charge of an organization just as well as
men do. Women started insisting on having the same rights as men. Eventually they
achieved changes in the constitution & the new constitution allowed men & women to
vote.

Post independence era

In post-independence, southern African schools had increased enrolment & both girls
& boys had the same opportunity to education.
However, with the influence of the traditional view, the curriculum in schools tended
to be gender biased with more science based subjects given to male pupils &
languages & home management given to female pupils. On the same reason fewer
girls were able to get access to education opportunities even fewer making it beyond
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primary education. In the same manner, very few women found it difficult to access
modern technology to make their lives easier. Even at independence the majority of

women still find themselves in rural areas where there are poor educational facilities
& poor agricultural production.

After the experience of the struggle and at independence, women were determined to
fully participate in the development of their new nations. They are decision-makers
in parliament, cabinet, schools, Non-governmental Organizations, etc. Political parties
have women members. Women hold leadership positions even at village level, e.g.
Kgosi Mosadi Seboko. They also have voting rights.

The role of women in the formal & informal sectors of the economy

Women provide essential labour in the informal sector. However, more men are
employed than women.

i. Women find themselves occupying junior positions in their work places. Men
occupy most senior positions in the formal sector.

ii. The informal sector is mainly in the hands of women doing such jobs as
hawker’s business, selling brewed beer, running shebeens, designing/knitting
dresses/clothes & selling vegetables in an open market. Other examples
include shopkeepers, cooks in restaurants & housemaids.

iii. Women find themselves with little options but to offer labour in the informal
sector because most of the jobs in the formal sector are biased towards males.

iv. The other reason is that few women than men have skills. In the formal sector,
women offer mainly secretarial work& being a bank teller. They always tend
to offer assistance to men who will be holding administrative positions.

v. Few women make it to administrative positions. This may be a result of the

fact that very few girls make it beyond secondary education. Women find
themselves excluded from technical jobs such as engineering, surveys &
architecture etc.

Women do much of the work in rural areas because they are the majority in the rural
population. They do 80% of the activities in rural areas. They provide employment by
starting up income-generating ventures such as tuck-shops, selling vegetables &
poultry farms e.t.c. Most women often carry out extra-unpaid jobs in the communities
such as organizing projects, building community dams, community health projects
e.t.c. They are also engaged in drought relief projects & they also raise funds for
community projects.

The national policy on women & development as espoused in NDP 7, will involve
women as equal partners in the nation’s economic & social developments. A focus on
women in isolation could obscure differences amongst women as a group & also
between men & women. The growth of the economy, social justice, national self-
reliance & sustainable development, resuscitates the participation of both men &
women. We are aware that men & women have the following:

 The role they play in the household & in society in general

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 The rights & privileges given to them by traditional customs & the legal
system
 Their access & control over strategic resources

 Their interests in different development activities

Women and rural development

While the gender distribution in urban areas is almost even, women are the majority
in rural areas & are a key resource & an important planning factor in the development
process. Women’s tasks in the rural areas are concentrated in three crucial areas
namely:
i. Domestic work within the household
ii. Subsistence agriculture
iii. Income generation
Their contributions to the national domestic product are frequently undervalued
because many of the economic activities are usually performed women who lack
statistical visibility; as a result women are the forgotten producers in the national
economy.

The household maintenance tasks are mainly done by women. Food preparation is
time consuming & firewood is the source of energy. It is estimated that about 95% of
the rural population depend on firewood for their household energy needs. This
dependency to a large extent is caused by the severe constraint to switch to other fuels
given women’s low income.

One of the main constraints on women productivity is related to the labour time
involved in their daily house maintenance, tasks & childcare. Once this is reduced, it
implies some possible diversion to income generating activities or development
projects. The budget studies have indicated that tasks such as fuel collections, water
fetching, food processing & preparation can account for the better part of an adult
woman’s extremely long working day. Allocation of such resources would therefore
have immediate beneficial effects.

Women’s organizations in Botswana

Just like in any other country in the world, women in Botswana have organized
themselves for change. Some of their organizations include:
 Emang Basadi
 Metlhaetsile
 WAR (Women Against Rape)
 BCW (Botswana council of women)

Botswana Council of Women (A Welfarist Organisation) Welfare: Help given to people in

need

This is a National Non-Governmental Organisation that was formed in 1965. Its

objectives include:
- To provide affordable nursery school services for women to freely go to work
or be self-employed
- To provide women and the youth with skills development training for income
generating activities and self-sufficiency for poverty alleviation
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- To encourage responsible citizenship, power sharing and equal economic
opportunities
- To provide education on HIV/AIDS in order to empower women with the
ability to negotiate with their partners for safer sex
- To encourage women to participate in self-help projects
- To facilitate the establishment of skills development centers in the villages

- To advocate and lobby for the eradication of forms of discrimination against

women and the girl child.

Achievements
- The Botswana Council of Women has established over 33 Nursery Schools all
over Botswana. These schools provide Day Care and food for children while
their mothers are at work
- It successfully established a Goat Rearing Project in Ditlharapeng. This
generates some income that is invested back into the project
- They offer six months’ courses on dressmaking and fashion design. At least 20
people are trained every year
- At least another 20 people are trained every year on linen making (curtains,
comforters, cushions, etc). These are one months’ courses
- BCW has trained people on hair dressing – the correct use of chemicals,
plaiting and styling

Emang Basadi (A Lobbyist Organisation) Lobby: attempts to influence legislators/law makers

This was formed in 1986. Its goals include:
- Identifying women’s most urgent problems and trying to address them
- Increasing public awareness of women’s issues
- Lobby for the removal of all barriers that hinder the advancement of women,
i.e. it identifies laws that discriminate against women and lobby the
government to either amend them or remove them altogether

In 1994, Emang Basadi launched a Politic Education Project that was contained a
Women’s Manifesto. Among other things, the Women’s Manifesto aims at:
- Increasing the number of women in parliament and local government to 25%
- Reinsuring that political party platforms include commitment on women’s
issues and concerns
- Educating women on the connection between voting and improving their
living conditions, and
- Promoting an awareness of women’s political under representation as well as
informing them on the neglect of their needs

Effectiveness
- Emang Basadi has managed to hold Voter Education Seminars to bring the
issues outlined in the women’s manifesto to community level
- Before the 1994 elections, workshops were held to assist women candidates
from all political parties. Women candidates were trained on handling
campaigns especially on public speaking, fund raising and identifying key
national and local issues
- Women’s issues have been included in the political manifesto of Botswana’s
Political Parties
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- Representation of women in parliament has gone up and we now have women
cabinet ministers
- The number of women councilors has also increased as well as the number of
women chiefs in the House of Chiefs
- Women are increasingly assuming leadership positions in government and the
private sector.
-

Challenges faced by women’s organizations:

- Shortage of funds
- Male stereotypes
- Domestic violence and abuse
- Rape
- Little representation in the government e.g. councils, parliament
- Pull Her Down Syndrome: jealousy from fellow women
- Susceptibility to diseases due to women’s anatomy

Women’s Role in the Prevention of HIV/AIDS and other

Communicable Diseases

Botswana is being crippled by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. If the war against HIV/AIDS
is to be worn, women should be at the forefront. Gone are the days when women were
viewed just as ‘transmitters’ (Moreno 1997 p.302).
In Botswana,
- The Botswana Council of Women trains trainers through workshops to
become peer educators on HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention
- The Young Vulnerable Women seeks to mitigate/fight the spread of
HIV/AIDS and prevent teenage pregnancies. It engages in basic training on
skill development and on the publication of Youth Magazines that contain
information on HIV/AIDS
- The Kagisano Society Women’s Shelter Project is a voluntary non-profit
making organization that believes in the equality of mankind. It strives for a
violent free society. It aims to assist women and children who are survivors of
domestic violence by providing temporary accommodation. It pioneers
community responses to gender crisis, sexual violence and HIV/AIDS
- The Botshabelo Rehabilitation Centre embarks on community mobilization,
education and information on HIV/AIDS and sexual violence. It helps victims
or survivors of sexual violence with user-friendly clinical intervention to
reduce trauma. It also empowers men to be fully involved in the fight against
HIV/AIDS. The target groups are children, the youth and women.

In addition to the roles by women organizations above, women also:

- Take part in general HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention campaigns
- They are engaged in the implementation of HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns
at the work place. They ensure that all at work have access to and are provided
with sufficient and up to date information on HIV/AIDS
- They encourage parent to child discussions at the family level
- They help counsel the sick at family / ward / village level
- They help build and man orphanage centers
- They represent other women in national organizations such as NACA
- They raise awareness against abuse and rape
- They mobilize funds for the sick, the needy and the susceptible
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Problems faced by Women in Botswana
Although there are efforts to economically empower women and to remove all forms
of discrimination against them and the girl-child, women still face multiple problems.
These include:
- Violence against women: Some men beat their partners for no apparent
reason. Sometimes women are prevented from phoning or visiting relatives

- and friends. Female partners are usually shouted at, or told that they are ugly,
useless or bad mothers. Female partners are often accused of sleeping around
- Rape is on the increase. At least more than five females are forced into sexual
intercourse everyday
- In rural areas where women literacy rate is low, men/husbands deny
women/wives rights to acquire land, immovable property and to advance their
career opportunities. This takes away the rights of a woman as a decision
maker hence the woman is basically reduced to the level of a minor.
- Women’s social status is still relatively low because there are still some
cultural and traditional values which look at women as only child-bearers
- High teenage pregnancy causes great concern. In most cases these
pregnancies are unplanned and cause the girl-child to drop out of school. This
drop out of school acts as a barrier to educational and career advancement by
women
- Women’s health and survival is threatened by the spread of HIV/AIDS
- Female enrolment in vocational and technical institutions lags far behind that
of men
- There are still gender gaps in employment opportunities that still contribute
to the disparity in income between men and women
- There is still unequal access to production resources. Access to land may be
difficult for some women
- Female-headed families are on the increase. Women are sole breadwinners in
such families; as such they have to engage in income generating activities for
child survival and development. There is little time to spend with the children
at home. Where the woman did not receive enough education and training, her
chances of employability are limited and the family may suffer from poverty.
Child discipline especially the boy-child may be a problem and this may lead
to delinquency.
- The number of women in positions of power is very limited. Local level
politics still perceive men as the sole legitimate heirs to positions of
leadership.
- Women’s involvement in business is limited to small-scale activities in the
informal sector mainly due to financial constraints.
- Some women are forced by circumstances to indulge in prostitution or
commercial sex work
Some possible solutions to women’s problems
 Women must be equally educated to take good jobs
 All jobs must be equally available as they are to men
 Men must learn to share the responsibility of domestic work with women
 Women should have fewer children to have time to develop children
 Women must be respected & treated the same as men
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 There should be workshops to educate people on the importance of a life free
from gender violence. Stern measures should be taken against those who
physically, sexually and emotionally abuse women
 There should be standing sub-committees that review laws and assess their
gender implications. Laws that discriminate against women must be dealt
away with
 Promote deliberate measures to appoint women to decision-making positions
in the government, the private sector and parastatals

 Strengthen policies that support women’s participation in domestic and

foreign or external trade
 Promote women’s reproductive health and rights. Government should
collaborate with NGOs to promote safe delivery, ante and post-natal care.
Intensify education on the dangers of teenage pregnancy
 With regard to education and skills development, the education system should
be designed to create gender awareness right from the primary school level
 Promote research activities that will sensitise women on issues that affect their
status
 Formulate policies that protect women workers employed in rural and urban
informal sectors. Then there should be monitoring procedures to ensure that
such policies are followed

Disparities in Wealth Distribution between

Women and Men in Botswana
Men in Botswana are wealthier than their women counterpart because of the
following reasons:
- Men have had technical skills for a long time. When colonialists introduced
education, more boys than girls were taken to school
- With training and education, men learnt about ways of accumulating (wealth)
money which they later invested in other areas.
- Men have always owned property e.g. land, cattle, etc.
- Many years of leadership have made men to be better decision-makers. This
has helped them to use their money wisely

Female-headed households:
- These are families where only the mother is present as a parent and/or
breadwinner
- Are families where the mother is taking care of the children alone
- They are families consisting of the mother and her children (or child)

Causes of female-headed households:

- Marital problems leading to / resulting in divorce / men leaving the family for
another woman
- Death of the father / man / male partner
- It might be as a result of incest / adultery / illegitimate children
- Having a child or children out of wedlock (before getting married)
- The choice to have a child or children and remain single
- Educational, professional, economic independence by women

AIDS: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

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- A disease caused by a virus (HIV – Human Immuno Virus) that attacks the
body’s defence mechanism, which stops the body from defending itself
against infections
- A state in which the body’s defence mechanism has been defeated leaving the
body vulnerable to infections

Positive effects of HIV/AIDS on Botswana’s development:

- Few mouths to feed
- Training of personnel
- Development of infrastructure
- Creation of employment
- Inflow of capital
- Improvement of technology
- Encourages use of contraception thereby helps control population growth
- Mushrooming of businesses

Negative effects of HIV/AIDS on Botswana’s economic development:

- Loss of skilled labour force / leads to a decline in production / low
productivity
- An individual’s illness may result in the death of a breadwinner in the family
- Increased expenditure on health and community projects / redirection of
government funds to care for the infected/sick/orphans
- Possible decreased level of international investment
- Decline in population, thereby decreasing the pool of labour

How the Botswana government is addressing the HIV/AIDS scourge:

- Giving out free contraception
- (Sex) education in schools, clinics, hospitals, and the media e.g. Talk Back, Re
Mmogo, etc.
- Setting up AIDS committees at work places e.g. District Multi-Sectoral AIDS
Committee (DMSAC)
- Cooperation with foreign helpers e.g. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
- Subsidized medication / ARVs in clinics and hospitals
- Research into cure e.g. Harvard AIDS Research Centre at Princess Marina
Hospital
- Home based care
- Supplementary feeding
- Setting up testing centers e.g. Tebelopele Voluntary Testing Centres
- HIV testing by public figures