Meet 5 Of The Most Influential Women In Botswana

Meet 5 of the most influential women in Botswana! These women took their rights to exercise power and authority seriously and have executed the assignment all too well. From legal to political influence, the following women have played a huge role in the socio-economic development of Botswana and beyond borders.

1.Unity Dow

A legal giant that won’t go unrecognized in history books, Unity Dow made history as the first female judge appointed to Botswana’s high court. Also an activist, Dow has and continues to champion rights in Botswana and amassed success as a criminal prosecutor and a criminal defense attorney in Botswana. Her reputation skyrocketed in the early 1990s when she was the plaintiff in a groundbreaking case that dealt with citizenship rights through the mothers of newborns. She successfully challenged the Citizenship Act in the Botswana High Court in 1990 (Unity Dow v Attorney General) arguing that the Act was discriminatory. Dow, a specially elected member of parliament also served as the Minster of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation between November 2019 and August 2020.

2.Sheila Tlou

Professor Sheila Tlou is a specialist in HIV/AIDS and women’s health, and as well as a nursing educator. She was Botswana’s Minister of Health from 2004 to 2008. A distinguished advocate for human resources for health issues, Tlou is recognized visionary leader and champion. In 2003 she was awarded the Florence Nightingale Medal which is an accolade in recognition of nurses or nursing aides for “exceptional courage and devotion to the wounded, sick or disabled or to civilian victims of a conflict or disaster” or “exemplary services or a creative and pioneering spirit in the areas of public health or nursing education . Currently co-chair of the Nursing Now Global Campaign and Global HIV Prevention Coalition Tlou has in the past represented Botswana at the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. In 2002 she was appointed to a special United Nations task force on girls, women, and HIV/AIDS in southern Africa. She has also provided consultancy to UNAIDS, the UN Commission on the Status of Women and the World Health Organization.

3.Margaret Nasha

Nasha made history as the first woman told position of and serve as the Speaker of the National Assembly from 2009 to 2014. She worked as a journalist and civil servant before entering politics, and also served a term as Botswana’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. Her history with politics dates back as far as 1994 with the National Assembly and as a minister in the governments of Quett Masire and Festus Mogae. Nasha served with the BDP for a long time before her infamous fall out with then President Ian Khama and would resign and join opposition in January 2016.

4.Bogolo Kenewendo

The youngest of the lot, Kenewendo is an African economist and Managing Director of Kenewendo Advisory and also the former Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry of Botswana. During her tenure as minister, Kenewendo championed and introduced policy changes and doing business reforms including: reducing cost and time to start a business in Botswana from 49 days to 7 through implementing an online business registration system, reforming licensing requirements, introducing digital economy strategy and development of ecommerce ecosystem, introducing Supplier Development Program for SME onboarding in various value chains; increased foreign direct investments in one year against the target of the last 5 years. An astute international economist, trade and investment specialist with vast experience across Africa, Bogolo is also a board member of property group; RDC Properties and has served as a member of various high level bodies across industries.

5.Pelonomi-Venson Moitoi

Her initial profession was journalism prior to joining the political arena. Moitoi served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Botswana from 2014 until December 2018. However, her journey with politics dates back as far as 1999 on her appointment as one of the four specially selected members and her re-election in the 2004 general elections. She was the Minister of Works, Transport and Communications from 2001 to 2002 and Minister of Trade, Industry, Wildlife and Tourism from 2002 to 2004. She was further appointed as the Minister of Communications, Science, and Technology in 2004 and Minister of Communications, Science and Technology in 2009. Moitoi has also served as the Minister of Education for the 2009 cabinet.

A momentous event in her political career was her contesting of the party presidency In Decmeber 2018. However this was short-lived when in April 2019 she wrote a letter to Secretary General of the Botswana Democratic Party stating that she was withdrawing from the presidential election, alleging that the election was “rigged from the beginning.” The previous day witnessed the High Court ruling against her request to have the elective congress postponed, agreeing with opposition lawyers that she had not proved if her citizenship was by birth or descent. Her candidacy had been supported by former President Ian Khama, who slammed the ruling party, accusing them of “cheating, intolerance and intimidation.”