DƆNÙESÈ Data Center / Women’s Rights Laws by Country / Botswana

Southern Africa · Country law profile

Botswana: women’s rights and civic space laws

Botswana’s Constitution prohibits discrimination, but the CEDAW Committee noted in 2025 that family law does not cover divorce and debt and that women are not awarded equal inheritance under State law. Abortion is allowed only on limited grounds, and consensual same-sex relations were decriminalised by court decision, upheld by the Court of Appeal in 2021. Women hold 9% of seats in the National Assembly after the October 2024 election and there are no electoral quotas. In June 2025 Botswana told the CEDAW Committee it ratified the Maputo Protocol in December 2023, while a Domestic Violence Act revision and an Employment and Labour Relations Bill with workplace sexual harassment provisions were under way.

Women leaders at an RFLD convening. RFLD member organisations use these laws in their advocacy. Photo: RFLD, taken with the consent of participants.

At a glance

Capital	Gaborone
Legal system	Mixed system of Roman-Dutch and English common law alongside customary law
Official languages	English (Setswana is the national language)

Key indicators

9.0% (6 of 67)Women in National Assembly (2026)

About 45%Agricultural land owned by women (2022)

Regional and international treaties

Treaty	Status	Reservations or notes
Maputo Protocol	ratified December 2023 (as reported by the Government to the CEDAW Committee in June 2025)
CEDAW	acceded 13 Aug 1996
CEDAW Optional Protocol	acceded 21 Feb 2007
African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child	signed, ratified and deposited 10 Jul 2001	None listed
ILO C190 Violence and Harassment Convention	Not ratified; the Government told the CEDAW Committee in June 2025 it was consulting on accession
ILO C100 Equal Remuneration	ratified 5 Jun 1997
ILO C111 Discrimination (Employment and Occupation)	ratified 5 Jun 1997
ICCPR	signed and ratified 8 Sep 2000	Declarations on Article 7 (limited to section 7 of the Constitution) and Article 12(3) (limited to section 14 of the Constitution)
Kampala Convention	Not signed (AU list as at 8 Jul 2024)
AU Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection (Malabo)	Not signed (AU list as at 2 Feb 2026)
Budapest Convention on Cybercrime	Not a party

Constitution

Constitution	Constitution of Botswana, 1966 (as amended); a constitutional review was under way in 2025
Quotas or parity	No electoral quotas or reserved seats; 6 members are indirectly elected by the National Assembly. The Government told the CEDAW Committee that the constitutional review targets gender parity in parliament by 2030.

National laws

Sexual harassment

Public Service Act; Employment and Labour Relations Bill (presented to Parliament July 2025)

The Public Service Act makes sexual harassment a punishable offence for public servants; the Bill would cover workplace sexual harassment more broadly.

Gaps: No general workplace sexual harassment law before the Bill.

Source: ohchr.org

Political participation and quotas

No quota law

No legislated or voluntary electoral quotas are recorded by IPU.

Gaps: Women hold 9% of National Assembly seats; a Gender Equality Bill was in development in 2025.

Source: data.ipu.org

Nationality

Citizenship law as interpreted in Attorney General v Unity Dow (1992)

The ruling found the citizenship law discriminatory and allowed women to pass citizenship to their children. Male and female foreign spouses can obtain citizenship after 5 years’ residence.

Source: ohchr.org

Trafficking

Anti-Human Trafficking (Amendment) Act, 2024

Aims to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons; backed by a national action plan.

Gaps: Only three victims identified since the plan began; no comprehensive study of trafficking.

Source: ohchr.org

Online violence and cybercrime

Cybercrime and Computer Related Crimes Act, 2018

Criminalises unauthorised access, harassment, fraud, extortion and data offences using computers.

Gaps: The CEDAW Committee (2025) noted limited enforcement; the Data Protection Act 2018 also applies.

Source: coe.int

Vulnerable Groups

Not criminalised (Penal Code provisions struck down)

Court rulings found the Penal Code provisions on consensual same-sex relations unconstitutional; the Court of Appeal upheld this in 2021.

Source: ohchr.org

Gender-based and domestic violence

Domestic Violence Act, 2008, and Domestic Violence Regulations, 2013

Provides protection orders and other remedies for abuse within domestic relationships, including physical and sexual abuse. It limits withdrawal of cases at police level.

Gaps: The CEDAW Committee noted low prosecution rates for gender-based violence.

Source: rodra.co.za

Rape and sexual offences

Penal Code (Cap. 08:01), section 141 and defilement provisions

Criminalises rape and defilement of girls.

Gaps: Marital rape is not explicitly criminalised, as raised by the CEDAW Committee in 2019.

Source: ohchr.org

Family and personal status

Abolition of Marital Power Act, 2004

Removed the husband’s marital power so that married women have independent legal capacity and an equal say over joint property.

Source: rodra.co.za

Family and personal status

Children’s Act, 2009

Applies the best interests of the child to guardianship and custody and gives unmarried fathers rights of access and custody.

Source: rodra.co.za

Family and personal status

Customary Law Act, sections 2 and 10

Customary law applies only where it is compatible with written law, morality, humanity and natural justice.

Gaps: The CEDAW Committee found that customary law provisions still discriminate against women within the dual legal system.

Source: ohchr.org

Child marriage and age of marriage

Interpretation (Amendment) Act, 2013, section 45

Sets the age of majority at 18 for both sexes.

Gaps: The CEDAW Committee considered protection against child marriage insufficient, and the Marriage Act was under revision.

Source: rodra.co.za

Inheritance and succession

Administration of Estates Act

Allows estates of persons living a modern lifestyle to devolve under common law instead of customary law.

Gaps: Customary inheritance rules continue to apply to many estates and can disadvantage widows and daughters.

Source: rodra.co.za

Land and property

Married Persons Property Act, 2014

Lets spouses in customary marriages choose civil law property rules, including community of property, and allows the High Court to change the regime after marriage.

Gaps: The CEDAW Committee noted continuing gender discrimination in land allocation.

Source: rodra.co.za

Abortion and sexual and reproductive health

Penal Code amendment of 1991 on termination of pregnancy

Permits medical termination of pregnancy in limited circumstances defined by law.

Gaps: The CEDAW Committee noted that efforts to decriminalise abortion remain incomplete.

Source: rodra.co.za

Labour and maternity

Employment (Amendment) Act, 2010

Sets maternity pay at a minimum of 50 percent of salary and gives effect to ILO standards on equal pay and non-discrimination.

Gaps: The CEDAW Committee noted weak private sector coverage of sexual harassment and lack of childcare and breastfeeding provisions at work.

Source: rodra.co.za

Trafficking

Anti-Human Trafficking Act, 2014

Criminalises trafficking in persons, especially of women and children.

Source: rodra.co.za

Trafficking

Children’s Act, 2009 (child trafficking offence)

Makes it an offence to abduct or sell a child. Trafficking a child is also an offence. These offences are punishable by a fine or 5 to 15 years in prison.

Source: rodra.co.za

Access to justice and legal aid

Legal Aid Act, 2013

Establishes the national legal aid programme to improve access to justice, including for women.

Source: rodra.co.za

Access to justice and legal aid

Customary Courts Act, sections 37 and 42

Allows cases to be transferred from customary courts to ordinary courts in the interests of justice and permits appeals to the High Court.

Gaps: Customary courts have no mandatory referral mechanism for discrimination cases.

Source: rodra.co.za

Data protection

Data Protection Act No. 18 of 2024

Replaces the Data Protection Act 32 of 2018 and strengthens data subject rights. It requires breach notification within 72 hours and parental consent for children under 16 online.

Gaps: Commissioners of the Information and Data Protection Commission are appointed by the President, which raises independence concerns.

Source: misa.org

Civic space

Cybercrime law	Cybercrime and Computer Related Crimes Act, 2018; Data Protection Act, 2018

Women and girls with disabilities

Persons with Disability Act, 2024 (Act No. 6 of 2024)

Assented on 30 January 2024. It comes into force on a date set by the Minister.

Source: covid19.gov.bw

Social protection

No social protection framework law

Social protection programmes run under policy, not under a framework law.

Gaps: No framework law on social protection.

Source: undp.org

Older persons

No specific law on older persons

WHO lists the lack of a law protecting the rights of older adults as a gap. An ageing strategy and the old age pension exist.

Gaps: No law on the rights of older persons.

Source: afro.who.int

Recent developments

July 2025. CEDAW Committee published concluding observations on Botswana’s fifth report, urging action on discriminatory social norms, criminalisation of sexual violence and survivor services.
July 2025. Employment and Labour Relations Bill, covering workplace sexual harassment, presented to Parliament.
June 2025. CEDAW Committee reviewed Botswana; the delegation reported ratification of the Maputo Protocol in December 2023.
October 2024. General election: women won 6 of 67 National Assembly seats (9%).
2024. Anti-Human Trafficking (Amendment) Act adopted.

Reforms recommended

Reforms recommended by the African Commission, UN treaty bodies or national organisations, as reported in the sources below.

Criminalise all forms of sexual violence comprehensively and fund survivor services and shelters (CEDAW Committee, 2025).
Adopt legislation on equal pay for work of equal value and pass the Employment and Labour Relations Bill with workplace sexual harassment provisions (CEDAW Committee, 2025).
Reform family and inheritance law so women inherit equally and divorce and debt are covered (CEDAW Committee, 2025).
Introduce temporary special measures to raise women’s representation, in line with the parity-by-2030 target in the constitutional review (CEDAW Committee, 2025).
Ratify ILO C190.

Being verified. RFLD is checking the laws on the following topics against official texts and will add them to this page: female genital mutilation, harmful practices, girls’ education, human rights defenders. Corrections and documents are welcome at programs@rflgd.org.

African Union treaties

Status of 29 African Union treaties as recorded in the official AU status lists published by the African Union Commission. The date of each list is shown: a ratification deposited after that date may not appear yet. 4 of the 13 human rights and governance treaties below are ratified.

AU treaty	Status	AU list dated
Maputo Protocol (rights of women)	Ratified deposited 01/12/2023	19/09/2023
African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights	Ratified 17/07/1986	15/06/2017
African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child	Ratified 10/07/2001	14/02/2023
Protocol establishing the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights	Signed 1998, not ratified	14/02/2023
African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance	Not signed	08/07/2024
AU Convention on Ending Violence against Women and Girls	Not signed	22/05/2026
Protocol on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities	Not signed	22/05/2026
Protocol on the Rights of Older Persons	Not signed	22/05/2026
Protocol on Social Protection and Social Security	Not signed	22/05/2026
African Youth Charter	Not signed	19/09/2023
OAU Refugee Convention	Ratified 04/05/1995	16/05/2019
AU Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption	Ratified 14/05/2014	14/02/2023
AU Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection (Malabo)	Not signed	02/02/2026

Other AU treaties (16)

AU treaty	Status	AU list dated
Protocol on Free Movement of Persons	Not signed	08/08/2023
Protocol on the Statute of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights	Not signed	18/06/2020
Protocol on Amendments to the Statute of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights (Malabo Protocol)	Not signed	22/05/2026
Protocol of the Court of Justice of the African Union	Not signed	18/06/2020
Protocol on the Peace and Security Council	Ratified 24/06/2005	27/04/2022
Protocol to the OAU Convention on Terrorism	Not signed	15/06/2017
OAU Convention on Mercenarism	Not signed	15/06/2017
Charter on Decentralisation, Local Governance and Local Development	Not signed	25/03/2022
Charter on Public Service and Administration	Not signed	08/07/2024
African Charter on Statistics	Ratified 19/02/2020	19/09/2023
Statute of the Pan African Intellectual Property Organization	Not signed	19/09/2023
African Road Safety Charter	Not signed	22/05/2026
Revised African Maritime Transport Charter	Not signed	25/03/2022
Phyto-sanitary Convention for Africa	Not signed	15/06/2017
Convention establishing the African Centre for Fertilizer Development	Not signed	19/09/2023
Constitution of the Association of African Trade Promotion Organizations	Not signed	16/05/2019

Sources (17)

Other countries in Southern Africa

AngolaCountry law profile EswatiniCountry law profile LesothoCountry law profile MalawiCountry law profile MozambiqueCountry law profile NamibiaCountry law profile South AfricaCountry law profile ZambiaCountry law profile ZimbabweCountry law profile

Information verified as of October 2026. This page is for information and advocacy and is not legal advice. Laws change: check the official text before relying on it. Part of the DƆNÙESÈ Data Center of the Women Leaders Network for Development (RFLD). See also the Maputo Protocol Hub and the Maputo Barometer.

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