The International Day of Women in Diplomacy event in Gaborone

To mark International Day of Women in Diplomacy on 24 June, EU Ambassador to Botswana and SADC, Petra Pereyra, hosted an inspiring event in the EU Residence together with the French and Ukrainian Embassies in Gaborone, including an exchange on “Beyond representation: women’s voices in diplomacy”. 

The speakers of the panel included Assistant Minister for State President Maipelo Mophuting, who is one of the three female members elected to the Botswana parliament in the historic 2024 general elections, a first time MP appointed to a key position in the new government. Other panellists were High Commissioner of Zambia Pamela Chisanga, High Commissioner of Kenya Sabdiyo Dido Bashuna, and UN Special Advisor on Africa Lebogang Diswai, who shared their personal experiences and takeaways in overcoming challenges as women in diplomacy, in politics and in peace and security, in addition to the host of the event. 

Ambassador Pereyra’s main takeaways on what it takes to break gender barriers in diplomacy and in political leadership included: 

• Leadership and political will to address inequalities
• Decisive action to make progress
• Accountability to stay the course on targets set

The event was also an opportunity to network among the participants most of whom were Botswana women of diverse backgrounds: members of the parliament, ministers, senior government officials, youth leaders and climate activists, CSOs and representatives of the UN organisations, private sector, academia and media, in addition to diplomatic corps. Soon after her arrival in Gaborone in September 2022, Petra Pereyra launched an informal women’s network, which convenes two to three times a year and has resulted in new connections and fruitful collaborations among the participants, including a climate change training to new MPs and collaboration among organisations working on gender-based violence.