Women’s quest to participate in local governance in Botswana

This policy brief explores factors that affect the participation of women in local governance structures and investigates challenges that women face in their struggles to represent the voices of their communities. A qualitative research approach was applied in which five interviews were conducted with female mayors and councillors and secondary data was also included. The findings revealed that some female mayors and councillors encounter myriad barriers including bullying, patriarchy, abuse, unsupportive laws, policies, and lack of recognition. The brief concludes with policy recommendations on how to overcome these challenges.

This policy brief is a result of the ICLD Local Democracy Academy 2020