MARITAL POWER ACT SIGNALS MOVE FORWARD TOWARDS GENDER EQUALITY

DITSHWANELO – The Botswana Centre for Human Rights seeks to congratulate the legislature on the passing of the Abolition of Marital Power Act in December 2004, which currently awaits commencement.

As we pause to celebrate the rights and responsibilities of women in Botswana on International Women’s Day 8 March, it is important that we recognise that progress for women also means progress for children and men. This year’s theme is Gender Equality and a Secure Future’.

Before this Act, (which does not apply to customary and religious marriages), women in common law marriages, were in the position of minor children. This prevented marriages being based on a firm foundation of mutual respect, mutual recognition of human dignity and the right to equal treatment and responsibility. Instead, the marital power previously granted to men in common law marriages, created marriages based on inequality of power in the relationship and of control over property. This has in the past, resulted in marital homes being sold by the husband without the knowledge of the wife. Without legal protection, wives were vulnerable to such misuse of the marital power. This has often led to wives and children left without homes in which to live.

One of the effects of the abolition of the marital power has been the removal of the position of the husband as ‘head of the family’. Both parents will now have equal responsibilities as guardians or carers of their minor children. This has far-reaching implications in relation to decision-making processes within the family, as well as decisions which affect the family. This signals a move towards a participatory, consultative process, in which the views of the the wife, husband and the children (where age-appropriate) should be encouraged, shared and valued. The recent Government review of the Children’s Act to ensure that it is in keeping with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, also marks a significant contribution towards this participatory approach to family life.

DITSHWANELO recognises that if this Act is taken seriously and constructively applied in marital relationships, it will contribute significantly to the move towards gender equality as well as a secure future for all in Botswana, not only for women. In the light of the high number of reported cases of femicide or ‘crimes of passion’, society needs to pause and reflect on ways of ensuring that relationships are based on the firm foundation of mutual respect, mutual recognition of human dignity and the right to equal treatment and responsibility.

7 March 2005
Gaborone