2020 marked the rise and reinvention of the Botswana artivist. Now, more than ever, young creatives in this country are fighting to implement lasting social and cultural change. Looking to the past to curate their futures, they are using their platforms to speak out against and challenge some of the country's more problematic and harmful narratives.

Traditionally, Botswana is a modest nation with much of the population reluctant to go against the grain, but this past year’s global turmoil has sparked a new movement spearheaded by musicians, bloggers, skaters and models. From publicising the country’s concerning rape statistics to expanding the rights of the LGBTQI+ community, Batswana youth are finally at the forefront and ready to dismantle their nation’s oppressive systems. Here we profile some of the most inspiring changemakers.

Brilliant Kodie

Brilliant Kodie defies the creative industry’s many -isms by digitising a queer perspective of Botswana through storytelling and photography. Two years ago he launched Setabane, an online platform aimed at disseminating and archiving the stories of Botswana’s LGBTQI+ youth community.

At present, Botswana’s laws have decriminalised gay sex, an amendment of the penal code which has given much confidence previously lacked by the LGBTQI+ community. Being backed by the constitution has given queer nationals a new found space to exist as equals with the heterosexual community and proves that homosexuality is African and is part of the African narrative.

Setabane, which is a derogatory word used to describe a queer person in Setswana (one of the native languages in Botswana), has sparked many conversations around the everyday experiences of sexuality in Botswana and the personal performative strategies of resistance by young people.

“Because of social media, the world now knows of the homophobia that lives in West Africa,” says Kodie. “We’ve been able to raise awareness easily in this way, something we were never really assured of from traditional media. With social media too, we are able to hold traditional media accountable, which is something I see happening on Twitter frequently.”

Nature Inger

Model and activist Nature Inger founded the #everythreehours movement to highlight the fact that living as a womxn in Botswana means being under the constant threat of sexual violence from men. The name stems from the alarming statistic that a woman was raped every three hours in December 2019. This snapshot reflects the fact that Botswana currently holds the second highest rape statistics in the world with 92.90 incidents per 100,000. Police reports estimate that less than 50 percent of rape incidents are reported and precious few of those result in convictions.

Inger took to social media to encourage Batswana to confront this issue. She is vocal in her conviction that to truly dismantle Botswana’s disturbing rape culture, we need to look at ourselves as a community. “There is almost no true feminism in Botswana,” she says. “Most, if not all of us, are elitist without realising it, and every organisation or group that deals with issues of girl and woman empowerment is targeted toward raising a very specific type of girl. And so, it leaves out another type of girl and not only that, it encourages people, and especially men, to only give respect to a certain type of woman.”

Inger’s perspective speaks to the fact that every group of women in Botswana believes that their standard of femininity is the ‘correct’ one and they do not support or stand in solidarity with women who choose different lifestyles or were born into different circumstances. Even NGOs dealing with issues of gender push the agenda of women needing to be modest, leaving out Trans-women and women who don’t belong to the middle and upper classes.

Zinedine Gioia

When creative entrepreneur and model Zinedine Gioia took to Twitter to share her harrowing experience of date rape, she unintentionally spearheaded a movement reminiscent of #MeToo. Her story catapulted the hashtag and online petition #JusticeForZinedine. This act of bravery prompted many women to speak out about their own experiences of abuse and start a much-needed social conversation about consent.

“There’s a level of vulnerability between artists and their consumers that makes getting messages across easier and more authentic,” Gioia says. “I can’t speak to how artists choose to execute this, but I can say that if you have the chance to make positive change in your community, do so. We’re fortunate to be in the era where African creatives are taking charge across several fields so this is the best time for us to share narratives we need and want the world to see about us.”

Gioia’s story has revealed how Botswana institutions do not support victims of sexual violence. The Botswana Police Services has come under public scrutiny for its lack of sensitivity. For example, there are victim accounts of being interrogated in front of their assailants. In addition, there is still a lot of shame associated with sexual violence that further abets rapists in not being accountable.

”It’s evident how our justice systems have been failing us, which further drives the importance of taking matters of social justice into our own hands,” she adds. “As John Butler so rightfully said. ‘Art changes people, people change the world.’”

Knuckleheads

Though the Knuckleheads skateboarding collective is not as vocal about their style of activism, they continue to champion free speech and promote a creative sport culture fuelled by fashion and music. The collective is currently working towards building a skate park in the city and has challenged the government to show its support to their fraternity. With skateboarding now being recognised as an Olympic sport, the Knuckleheads wish to dismantle the local notion that skating is a western hobby reserved for bored upper class teens.

Knuckleheads founder, Mosako Chakalisa says: “The Botswana skate scene has been under the radar for almost 10 years now and through the Knuckleheads we set out to create visibility for the alternative sport through photography and video. Content featuring Batswana skateboarders such as Kagiso Leburu, Kaone Ntshole and Brandon Majaha has garnered the local skate scene recognition from brands such as Vans. Our next step is to erect the first concrete skate park in Gaborone and hopefully inspire more kids throughout the nation to pursue their passion for skateboarding.”