Women & Politics in Botswana Situational Analysis of History and Current Perceptions

Have you made an effort to pursue a political career as a woman:
Despite the 32 that had developed an interest to pursue
a Political career; only 2 respondents indicated having
made an effort before to stand.
Why have you not voted in the last three elections:
For the large majority that indicated that despite interest, they
had not made an effort a few reasons were chosen but the
following stood out as popular reasons:
Almost 24% indicated that they were still pre-occupied with
building their professional profiles.
Around 18% indicated not being both financially and
emotionally ready for politics
Another significant part of the respondents indicated that they
were still trying to identify with a political party that resonates
with their beliefs and principles or that they felt that they were
not known enough in their communities to stand for elections.
Other reasons were that they did not know where to start or felt
they were not mature enough for politics.
The least popular reasons were: the belief that politics are a man's
world or that people around them were discouraging them.
This question and the responses reflect that most of the women do
not stand because they make self-perceptions that they are not
"ripe enough" to represent communities while a few who feel ready,
take too much time trying to determine where they fit in the larger
picture. It however showed that slowly but surely, the myth that
Politics is a man's world is being erased.