Education

As one of only seven women councillors in the 35 member Gaborone City Council, Andretta Makaka has had her share of challenges. She is a BNF member and represents the Mosekangwetsi ward. She became a councillor in 2004, and recounts how, during the time she was campaigning she had to reckon with family and community resistance to her standing for political office. Her campaign efforts took her out of the home most of the time and she used to come home at night and was still expected to cook. She had to negotiate with her family to do household chores so that she could be free to campaign.

Councillor Margaret Daka from Kitwe had been the Kitwe branch Chairperson for 16 years, and has acted as a campaign manager for other candidates before she decided to stand as a councillor herself. She believes that it was as a result of this political experience that she was able to stand for elections and succeed.

Joyce Sakala, Chairperson of Chongwe Council, says that when she was the only woman in council the men would victimise her and push her left right and centre. Fortunately, she stood her ground and now, in her second term, she is the Chairperson of council.

Nomsa Dlamini, Bucopho from the Nhlambeni Kashali Inkhundla is in her first term in office and at the time of the interview, she had been part of this inkhundla for three months. She says that having worked with men previously in the Community Policing Forum and the inner council where she was one of the only women among many men, she now feels freer and more able make her points in council. In the past, she had not even considered running for elections. The chairman of the police in the area encouraged her to stand based on her work in the Community Police Forum (CPF). “Our police chairman in the area is the one who suggested that I stand for elections. We worked together in the CPF and he said his request was based on the work they had seen from me.”

Before I started working with Gender Links, I thought I know a lot about gender. But once I started training with Gender Links, I saw how much I didn’t know. Now, I know how to prioritize gender in budgeting issues, for example, as well as the importance of having women’s voices in everything we do. Gender Links really lit my torch on gender issues, and nourished my understanding of what women and men can do to work towards gender equality.

I first encountered Gender Links when I was asked to participate in a training in Katete by the local government representatives for the Gender Justice and Local Government Summit. I put together a presentation on our project to show case it. Through this, I realized how important it is to be able to speak well. In my job, I talk to a lot of women, and the local government and also to traditional leaders in our communities. I believe that talking to all of those people as a woman requires a lot of patience and hard work.

My first workshop with GL was in August 2010, and I followed all the trainings until 2011. The most memorable workshop for me was on internet use, quite an unknown matter for me. I was struggling given the fact that it was the first time for me to use a computer. GL with Ialfine and Zoto has taught us many modules that are really useful for our work and our life in general.

My position as a Councillor has made me understand the suffering of so many vulnerable women, and Gender Links has changed the way I respond to them. I was the first woman to become the Vice Chairperson in a District Council which has always been dominated by men. In my district, I have worked on GBV in many capacities.

I was one of very few women to sit on our District Council. Unfortunately my mandate was only for one year, but I am still a Village Councillor. Not only do I make sure that women, men and children live in a clean and safe environment, but I make it a point to get women interested in male dominated field. After only the second day of the workshop on Gender and Local Government, I realised that Mauritius has a major problem of so few women in politics.

Gender Links has turned me into a valuable person in the community. It has prepared me to impact other people’s lives. The changes that were brought into my life has helped me to mobilize other women to join politics. I realized that women are capable of doing great things if they are presented with the right opportunity.