It is completely ludicrous that in big 2025 women across the globe are still fighting to have their voices heard and rights respected.

Picture this. It’s the 21st century, 2025 to be exact and apparently terminating a pregnancy is still illegal. I’m talking jail time type of illegal. Of course it’s not completely against the law, the government tries to provide for instances where abortion is permitted. The classic bread crumbing- giving you little so you don’t complain in order to disguise the fact that a lot is being taken from you. No one should have the power to control what you do or do not do with your body especially if it’s regarding something as serious as pregnancy, something that alters your future and body as you know it. And yet here we are in Botswana, a state that has had independence for nearly sixty years and somehow we are still living in the ramifications of a patriarchal society if not the patriarchy itself.

From being kids to now entering adulthood, abortion has never been a topic that was openly discussed, always met with angry whispers of hush and stares that reminded you just how something as normal as reproductive health can be taboo. This stigma surrounding abortion has stretched so far wide that it is increasingly difficult to even find local resources to educate oneself on the topic, yes even schools offer very limited information and that is if you’re lucky. The question at the forefront of this then becomes, who suffers the most from lack of abortion access? And the answer as always is women and children.

It’s simple really, despite what the lawmakers tell you about not allowing abortions, the fact of the matter is that only safe and legal abortions are not allowed. Abortions are still carried out, just backstreet and unsafe. Young people especially are the victims of backstreet abortions through hangers, pills and chemicals. This is a direct result of banning access to health care, abortion should not have to be a crime. It is a right, a choice and women should not have to go through something as traumatic as rape in order to be allowed to exercise that right. Bodily autonomy is one of the rights that are impliedly guaranteed in the constitution of Botswana so why is it that so many women have their right of choice taken away from them?

THE ILLUSION OF CHOICE

The law of Botswana allows abortion under limited conditions: if the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest, or if continuing it would seriously harm the woman’s physical health. All these instances have a common recurring theme of extreme trauma. Why is it that a woman is only given her right of choice under circumstances that are deemed untoward by the society? It’s like saying we will allow it but only if you suffer enough to earn it. But rights are not earned, they just are. Why is this right of choice conditional? That is because it is an illusion of choice, not real choice. What we are offered is not freedom over our bodies-it’s fear, bureaucracy and deafening silence. Who else do you know whose body is policed the way women’s bodies are? What further makes it an illusion is that despite this limited access, in practice it is almost impossible to access. The process is complex, vague and deliberately intimidating. To get an abortion legally under these circumstances you need approval from medical professionals who can only give you that approval after examining you and in criminal cases you also need to be corroborated that you were in fact raped, a process that can be long. Long enough that by the time it is done it is not longer medically safe to administer the abortion. What happens in instances where a woman has been raped and is pregnant as a result but as we have seen before there is not enough evidence to prove that? Do we just look the other way and say nope not you. This may sound like a stretch but in a country like Botswana where there exists rural areas without access to adequate developments such as health facilities it really is a frightening prospect. Furthermore how many rape and sexual abuse survivors report their abuse? Out of the few that do how many are actually believed? How many can obtain proof quickly enough to meet the invisible legal and medical deadline? It is too many hoops to jump through, add to it the emotional and mental exhaustion of the victims and I guarantee you it’s either they will give up or it will be too late. The hoops are not built for protection or as a safety net as they say. They are built for delay, denial, frustration and deterrence. So really when the dust settles we are left with a law that pretends to offer options, a legal system that offers choice under trauma and makes you beg for it and a society that continues to look the other way as women are battered.

A society that calls you immoral for wanting an abortion. A statement that is often made by the naysayers is “ if you don’t want children then don’t have sex”. Valid through a narrow lens but have we not agreed that contraceptives fail sometimes? And even aside from that, we have spent years-our whole lives basically fighting for sexual liberation and we are too old to still be pushing the narrative that everyone who engages in sexual activities must bear the responsibility of having children. This narrative is not even enforced upon men, proof being the absent fathers and deadbeats pandemic. Men can just have sex that ends up in pregnancy but can walk away without any responsibility, it has even become normalized in Botswana. Yet the second a woman wants the right to have sex without being forced into motherhood then she’s a criminal. A killer they say. Of what? A bundle of cells? The double standards perpetuated in this country are the reason we will never be liberated. We have a teenage pregnancy rate of 51% and the truth that we refuse to accept is that young people are having sex, a tale as old as time and young people are getting pregnant and they deserve safe options. Young girls are trying dangerous methods, some carry pregnancies they don’t want, some drop out of school to become young and often single parents while riddled with poverty themselves. And almost everyone pretends it’s not happening. How on earth are we headed towards vision2036 when rights are not respected? When we are not socially developed enough to understand the core basis of inclusivity and tolerance?

The most alarming thing about this is that despite all the above mentioned, it is still not talked about enough. Ignorance is not bliss. This is not about promoting abortion. It’s about choice. About the ability to say “I’m not ready” and be supported. It is about trusting women’s judgement and decisions about their bodies. It is also about removing the silence that keeps us afraid to look behind the curtain. Silence has never protected anyone. If we want to reduce unsafe abortions, to protect women from devastating repercussions of backstreet abortions then access to safe ones is part of the solution as is education and compassion because the fear is not just the law, it is societal judgement.

The world is progressing at a fast rate whether we like it or not and it is high time Botswana followed suit. No more having to cross the border to procure an abortion. No more bread crumbs. The truth is a right that cannot be accessed is not a right at all. It’s a performance. A way for power to look progressive without ever letting go of its grip on women’s bodies and an injustice to anyone is an injustice to everyone. We will not be truly liberated until we are all free.