Page 1 | Page 2

Government of Botswana, Women's Affairs Division-Department of Culture and Social Welfare
Policy on Women in Development
Gaborone, Botswana: Women's Affairs Division, Department of Culture and Social Welfare, November, 1995

The thrust of the policy is to put in place intervention programmes and measures designed to enhance the status and role of women in decision-making and leadership at all levels. Aims to address issues in a comprehensive and holistic manner and in line with the planning principles of rapid economic growth, economic independence, sustained development and social justice.

Keywords: Policy; Gender; Decision-Making
Source: Government of Botswana, Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs, Department of Culture and Social Welfare, Women's Affairs Division, Gaborone, Botswana.

Government of Botswana, Women's Affairs Division
Report on a Review of all Laws Affecting the Status of Women in Botswana
Gaborone, Botswana: Department of Women's Affairs, 1998

The study looks at the status of women under public and private law. Each legal instrument is then analysed to assess how it adheres to international legal instruments. Some of the legislation analysed are the Botswana constitution, citizenship, employment, rape, domestic violence, and the legal status of women.

Keywords: Law; Women
Source: Department of Women's Affairs, Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs, Government of Botswana, P. Bag 00185, Gaborone, Botswana.

Government of Botswana; Women's Affairs Division
National Report for the Fourth World Conference on Women: Beijing, China, 1995
Gaborone, Botswana: Government of Botswana, Women's Affairs Division, 1995

This report reviews national developments concerning the advancement of women in Botswana since the third world conference on women. Botswana was not able to participate fully in the preparations and deliberations of that conference because of lack of access to information. This report was therefore a step forward for Botswana women in advancing their opportunity to participate as equals with other nations on the issues pertaining to women and national development.

Keywords: Women in Development; Equal Rights
Source: Botswana Government, Ministry of Home Affairs - Women's Affairs Division, Gaborone, Botswana.

Molokomme, Athaliah
His, Mine or Ours?: The Property Rights of Women Married Under Botswana Common Law
Gaborone, Botswana: Ministry of Home Affairs - Women's Affairs Division, 1986

This book gives women detailed information on the meaning and implications of the law of married persons' property so that they can make informed decisions before they marry. It explains in detail, the advantages and disadvantages of the two types of marriages under Botswana law: customary and common law.

Source: Ministry of Home Affairs - Women's Affairs Division, P. Bag 002, Gaborone, Botswana.

Molokomme, Athalia
The Woman's Guide to the Law: an Outline of How the Law Affects Every Woman and Her Family in Botswana
Botswana: Department of Law, 1995

This is a simplified form of the Batswana Law focusing on women. The handbook is meant to give Batswana women and girls some basic knowledge of some laws that affect them. The author highlights the fact that some laws are very old and might be changed in the near future to reflect modern developments and the new roles women play in society. Batswana women should know these laws since they apply to them. Botswana has two types of laws: the customary law and the common law.

Keywords: Law; Women Sources: University of Botswana, Department of Law, Box 0022, Gaborone, Botswana.

Molokomme I. M.; Alexander, E.M
The Women's NGO Coalition: Booklet on Six Critical Areas of Concern
Gaborone, Botswana: Women's NGO Coalition, 1995

After the Beijing Conference, the Women's Affairs Department (WAD) and the NGO Coalition, through a collaborative effort, identified six areas of concern as priority national issues. This booklet explains the major issues of concern under each critical area. The authors' summaries the efforts the government has made and provides an overview of the NGOs working in these areas, the implementation strategies, and their activities to improve the status of women.

Keywords: Organisations; Women
Source: Women's NGO Coalition, P. Bag 00342, Gaborone, Botswana.

Nyati-Ramahobo, Lydia
The Girl-Child in Botswana: Educational Constraints and Prospects
Gaborone, Botswana: UNICEF, 1992

UNICEF commissioned the Botswana Educational Research Association (BERA) to carry out the Girl-Child Study in September 1991. The study considered work done in the following areas: gender sensitivity in law, health and education with special emphasis on the national policy on female education; the curriculum; access to educational opportunities and the provision of educational facilities.

Keywords: Education; Girl Child; Policy
Source: UNICEF, Sub-regional office for Southern Africa, P.O. Box HG 435, Harare, Zimbabwe.
Email:unesco@hre.co.zw

Nyati-Ramahobo, L
Girls and Women Education: The Case of the Teen Mother Project in Botswana
Harare, Zimbabwe: UNESCO Sub-Regional Office for Southern Africa, 1997

The purpose of the report is to provide an in-depth analysis of this project in terms of its origins, objectives, main activities, sources of funding, key players, achievements and the lessons that can be learnt from it for future replication in other countries. The theoretical framework of the project is that given a second chance, teen mothers can complete their education. The study found that it is the general view of donors, staff, students and the community, that this project is an effective strategy to address the problem of the teen mother in Botswana. One of the most important lessons from this project is that effective strategies are expensive, and that the decision by government to support a project is not only dependent on its effectiveness, but also on whether government views the problem being addressed as a priority and secondly, as a cost-effective strategy. The study concludes that the project could be replicated with modifications in its structure without interfering with the curriculum component and by strengthening the vocational
component.

Keywords: Education; Girl Child; Women
Source: UNESCO, HG 435, Highlands, Harare, Zimbabwe.
E-mail: unesco@hre.unesco.co.zw

The Women and Law in Southern Africa Research Trust, Botswana
Botswana Families: Women's Rights in a Changing Environment
Gaborone, Botswana: WLSA, Botswana, 1997

The study examines the rights of women to access and control of resources in relation to their male counterparts within the various family types. An attempt was made to use the findings of the research to re-conceptualise the meaning of women's rights in the Botswana context. The findings revealed that for most parts of Botswana, the traditional land tenure system has allowed for a triangular pattern of access to land. They have three dwellings; a homestead at the village, another at the lands for agriculture and a modest form of dwelling at the cattle post. Access to resources or property in Botswana is not a major problem but control over property is based on the cultural and legal unequal power relations. Married women are under the full authority and power of men. Unmarried women therefore can acquire land and have control over it, unlike married women. The study also reveals that not all women are treated equally before the law, some women have more rights than others, most of those rights are determined by the family form they belong to.

Keywords: Equal Rights; Human Rights
Source: c/o National Institute of Development Research and Documentation, University of Botswana, P. Bag 00708, Gaborone, Botswana.

The Women's Affairs Department;The Women's
NGO Coalition
A Report of the Post - Beijing National Workshop
Gaborone, Botswana: Government of Botswana, 1997

After the Beijing Conference, the government and the women's NGOs continued to work together as in the pre-Beijing preparations, to find concrete strategies for implementing the recommendations from the Beijing conference. Consultative meetings were conducted through out the country by both the government and the Women's NGO Coalition. The report therefore, is on the first national workshop to feedback on the Beijing conference as well as to chart the way forward for the implementation of the National Plan for Action.

Keywords: Gender; Equal Rights
Source: Government of Botswana, Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs Gaborone, P. Bag 002 Botswana.