Africa-Press – Botswana. Women have been urged to participate fully in politics to advance their interests and address challenges they are faced with.
Assistant Minister of Trade and Industry, Ms Beauty Manake said this at the commemoration of Women’s Day reception organised by the Chinese Embassy in Gaborone recently.
Ms Manake challenged women not to shy away from playing their meaningful role in politics.
She said it was high time for Botswana to have more women in Parliament and ultimately a woman President. She said she was looking forward to seeing a large number of women contesting for council and Parliament seats in the next general elections.
“Let’s use our numbers to support each other and also vote for one another. I know we are faced with so many challenges as women lack financial support, but let us not use that as a stumbling block,” she said. She called on retired women politicians to play their role in mentoring the young ones and give them support.
Ms Manake said women should use Women’s Day to come together and discuss their challenges and suggest solutions. For her part, the wife of the Chinese Ambassador to Botswana, Ms Tong Xin said the liberation and progress of women had been indispensable to the liberation and progress of mankind in the entire course of history.
Ms Tong said achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls was a global agenda and an important part of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. She said the international community should attach great importance to helping women and enhancing their lawful rights and social welfare, as well as addressing issues of poverty, disease and violence faced by women.
Ms Tong said China’s tremendous achievements in gender equality and women’s developments were not only a vivid portrayal of the progress of Chinese civilisation, but also a great contribution towards global equality, development and peace.
She said on October 1, 2020, president Xi Jinping of China delivered an important speech at the UN General Assembly’s high-level meeting to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Conference.
She said President Xi put forward four propositions, to help women get rid of the impact of the COVID pandemic, to implement gender equality, to promote women to be at the forefront of the times and also to strengthen global cooperation in women’s causes.
Ms Tong appreciated her country for having proposed to hold another Global Women’s Summit in 2025 to contribute to the development of women’s undertakings in the post pandemic era.
For More News And Analysis About Botswana Follow Africa-Press
