Condolences
to all the families of the women who have been found dead last week at the
hands of men and to every other woman who is a victim of Intimate Partner
Violence (IPV). IPV is a menace in our communities. It is fueled by patriarchal
notions premised on the belief that women are men's properties. These toxic
masculinities must be rooted out in our communities. Men must be held
accountable for their behaviors, this includes developing adequate policies
that respond to the challenges of Gender Based Violence (GBV) and Violence
Against Women (VAW). Prevention is key in this respect.
Leadership
is crucial in these efforts. It is encouraging to see President Masisi taking
leadership in this instance in
a statement, Masisi called on Batswana to unite and become part of the solution
to end violence against “hapless young women.”
He
said he was deeply disturbed by “recent reports of violent abuse against our
women and children, ranging from assault and rape to murder.”
“This
is not who we are as a people and I urge us all to stand together in
solidarity, particularly us men, to fight against this growing phenomenon that
has plagued our nation,” Masisi said.
He
warned that the perpetrators of crimes against women would “face the full wrath
of the law.”
Our
country has reported a spike in the number of murder cases committed by men
against their spouses in recent months. This must be followed up by a clear
action plan for the country of dealing with GBV. Such a plan must involve all
key stakeholders in Botswana; government departments, civil society and the
private sector. Prevention is key in this regard to avoid the needless loss of
lives. We owe this to these women and the many victims and survivors of GBV. It
is easy to point a finger rather than take action Rainbow Identity Association
(RIA) would like to call out everyone in the society and country to stand
together in fighting against IPV and GBV.
The
perpetrators who in this case are men need to be held accountable and the boys
in our community need to be groomed and natured in a way that they will not
conform to the notions that women are their property and need to be tamed by
violence or any other way. If we natured the boy child and protected him as
much as we protect and nature the girl child RIA feel future GBV cases can be
avoided. We need to change the way the society looks at gender roles and behaviors,
believing that men are the head of the family and women should be submissive even
when they are being ill-treated and abused. Every day that passes without us
standing against this as a nation means more victims will pile up silently until
they turn up dead or in a hospital bed. We can’t keep quite anymore, we can’t
just write Facebook status and Whats-App status, it can’t be business as usual we
need to put those words into action and need to collaborate to make it happen
and to be heard.
By Urbenia Unaswi Kgwarae
RIA
Media and Advocacy Officer
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