On Day 4 of the 16 Days of Activism we speak to Maude Dikobe, gender activist and Senior Lecturer in Literature and the Expressive Arts of Africa and the African Disapora at the University of Botswana.
Tell us about yourself: who are you and what do you do?
My name is Maude Dikobe, I am a gender activist and gender researcher at the University of Botswana, where I chaired the Gender Policy Programme Committee (GPPC) from 2005 to 2013.
What’s your involvement with gender activism? Does your work intersect with gender activism? How?
I love, advocate and train trainers on women’s empowerment and feminist activism both in and outside the academy. When I was chair of GPPC we always collaborated with Gender Affairs to commemorate the 16 Days.
How does or could The Shiloh Project relate to your work and activism?
The Shiloh Project can relate to my work and activism through collaboration as exemplified by the joint-workshop which was held in Gaborone in collaboration with the Shiloh Project on ‘Rape, Culture, Religion and the Bible’ where the participants shared their views on rape in Botswana. The workshop was held on March 21, 2017. So we look forward as the University of Botswana for further collaboarations.
How are you going to get active to resist gender-based violence and inequality?
I write about GBV, see “Passion Killings: A Festering Sore on the Conscience of the Nation (2009) and “Treat ‘Em Rough” Gender and Heterosexual Violence in Calypso” (2008). As a gender activist and researcher, have worked with UNFPA Botswana to review GBV research project from 2008-2020. I am also visible in platforms that lobby and advocate for equality and a society that has zero tolerance for GBV.
You can also watch my advocacy videos on YouTube.
Maude, it’s great to hear your voice on these important gender and violence issues relevant to southern Africa, where only last week a nation rose up violently and threw off 37 years of shackles, the last straw being that of the threat of a woman seizing power. Keep talking…