BOTSWANA AT 60
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- Written by: Happy Galani
- Category: Human Rights
- Hits: 41
BOTSWANA AT 60 INDEPENDENCE, PROGRESS — AND THE WOMEN STILL WAITING FOR EQUAL PROTECTION
30 September 2026 EDITORIAL NOTE
This feature is written as a public-interest article. It calls for stronger protection of women and girls while separating documented evidence from allegations that require individual investigation. It does not claim that every harmful practice described here is widespread in Botswana. In particular, current authoritative datasets do not provide a national prevalence estimate for female genital mutilation (FGM) in Botswana. Any survivor testimony or case allegation should therefore be verified and reported with consent and appropriate safeguarding.
FROM INDEPENDENCE TO A MODERN NATION
Botswana became independent in 1966. Six decades later, its capital and other urban centres present a very different picture from the early years of independence: modern buildings, expanding institutions, higher educational participation and a growing public conversation about gender equality. The story of national progress, however, is incomplete if women and girls cannot enjoy the same security, dignity and access to
justice as men. Botswana has important protections and has adopted measures to address gender-based violence (GBV), but international reviews continue to identify gaps between legal rights, implementation and lived experience.
THE EVIDENCE: WHAT THE DATA ACTUALLY SAY
A 2022 Botswana government study, cited in U.S. State Department reporting, found that 67% of women had experienced some form of gender-based violence in their lifetime. A separate 2025 study reported by Botswana's DailyNews said about one in three women experience intimate-partner violence in their lifetime. UNICEF's Botswana SDG data show a historical estimate of 10% of women aged 20–24 having been married or in a union before age 18, based on 1988 data. In July 2025, CEDAW raised concern about child marriage, particularly in Indigenous communities, and recommended an enforceable minimum age of 18 without exceptions.
Botswana Background
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- Written by: John C Burke
- Category: Human Rights
- Hits: 53
Overall standing
Botswana is often held up as one of Africa's more stable, longer-running democracies, but Freedom House's 2026 report notes it was dominated by a single party from independence until the 2024 election, and many institutions still answer to the office of the president. Freedom House
Indigenous rights — the San/Basarwa people
This is probably the longest-running and most documented issue. The San (Bushmen), numbering roughly 60,000, have faced decades of dispossession from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, tied to diamond mining and conservation policy. A landmark 2006 High Court ruling found their eviction "unlawful and unconstitutional" and affirmed their right to live on their ancestral land, but implementation has been contested since — including disputes over access to water boreholes and, more recently, a Court of Appeal ruling denying a San family the right to bury an elder on ancestral land. The UN's Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Peoples' rights visited Botswana in September 2025 to examine land rights, justice, discrimination, and violence against Indigenous women, with a full report due to the Human Rights Council in September 2026. Freedom House notes the San continue to face discrimination alongside migrants, refugees, LGBT+ people, and people with disabilities.
Press freedom and digital rights
Amnesty International reports that in 2025 parliament enacted the Digital Services Act and the Cybersecurity Act, both of which centralized executive control over the digital sector without robust independent safeguards for privacy and free expression. Botswana ranked 81st of 180 countries in RSF's 2025 World Press Freedom Index; RSF noted fewer serious abuses against journalists but continuing obstacles to their work. Freedom House separately flags hostile lawsuits against journalists as a threat to media freedom. Amnesty International Botswana
MOLAPISI Is Free but What About Us
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- Written by: Keitumetse Carol Molwane
- Category: Female Persecution
- Hits: 94
LESIDI MOLAPISI IS FREE BUT WHAT ABOUT US
her name is Lesedi Molapisi and her surname matters not because it makes her different but because it proves we are all the same we are all Batswana our surnames mean nothing when we are all crying out for the same thing they moved mountains for her in Bangladesh they called they pleaded they used every diplomatic channel to bring her home and that is beautiful that is what leadership should be
But tell me where is that same fire for us right here at home
they talk about asylum they talk about people running away but they wont talk about why we are running
- GBV is tearing us apart and it is ignored
- people are vanishing and no one answers
- ritual killings are happening and they call it a lie
if Botswana can fight this hard for one of us across the world then Botswana MUST fight this hard for ALL of us standing right here
- we dont want special treatment we want equal justice
- we want the same protection Lesedi got
- we want the same urgency
- we want the same respect
her freedom is a victory but it is not complete until every single Motswana feels safe in their own country
- justice for Lesedi
- justice for the missing
- justice for the victims
- justice for ALL of us
#WeAreAllMolapisi #BotswanaWakeUp #OurLivesAreReal #JusticeAtHome #EndTheSilence