View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Calhoun, Institutional Archive of the Naval Postgraduate School Calhoun: The NPS Institutional Archive Theses and Dissertations Thesis Collection 2003-03 Expanding the shield and facing the challenges : integration of women in Botswana Defense Force Mophuting, Mpho C. Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School http://hdl.handle.net/10945/1084 NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL Monterey, California THESIS EXPANDING THE SHIELD AND FACING THE CHALLENGES: INTEGRATION OF WOMEN IN THE BOTSWANA DEFENCE FORCE by Mpho C. Mophuting March 2003 Thesis Advisor: Karen Guttieri Second Readers: Donald Abenheim J. Holmes Armstead Approved for public release; distribution unlimited THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Form Approved OMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instruction, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202-4302, and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (0704-0188) Washington DC 20503. 1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank) 2. REPORT DATE 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED March 2003 Master’s Thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE: Expanding the Shield and Facing the Challenges: 5. FUNDING NUMBERS Integration of Women in Botswana Defence Force 6. AUTHOR(S) Mpho C. Mophuting 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING Naval Postgraduate School ORGANIZATION REPORT Monterey, CA 93943-5000 NUMBER 9. SPONSORING /MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSORING/MONITORING N/A AGENCY REPORT NUMBER 11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES The views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense or the U.S. Government. 12a. DISTRIBUTION / AVAILABILITY STATEMENT 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited 13. ABSTRACT Botswana remains one of the few countries in the world (and the only country in the South African Development Community (SADC)) where females are legally prohibited from joining the military. The political and social pressure in the 21st century has softened the opposition of many influential politicians and bureaucrats to calls for inclusionary statutes. This thesis examines the possibility of opening doors to women in the Botswana Defence Force (BDF). It examines the policies, programs and scope of the role of women in the US armed services, Canadian Forces (CF) and the South African National Defence Forces (SANDF). It identifies from these highlights the most effective approaches to recruiting, training, and retaining women in the BDF once the opportunity is availed. In particular, this thesis examines the Six critical policies of the US armed services and the CF, namely, sexual harassment, fraternization, employment of women, equal opportunity, pregnancy, and family care. This thesis considers the lessons from these for the BDF. Two critical cases of sexual harassment, (the 1991 Tailhook Navy and Marine Corps Convention and the 1996 US Army’s Aberdeen Proving Ground incident), are highlighted in the study. The leading recommendations emphasize the need for the BDF to take the steps required to evoke a cultural change to affect the attitudes and perceptions of personnel and to examine how the SANDF administers its policies as they pertain to women. 14. SUBJECT TERMS SADC, BDF, US Army, US Navy, Policy Implementation, Recruitment, 15. NUMBER OF Training, Retention, Tailhook, Sexual Harassment, Fraternization, Equal Opportunity, Pregnancy, PAGES Family Care, Assignment. 107 16. PRICE CODE 17. SECURITY 18. SECURITY 19. SECURITY 20. LIMITATION CLASSIFICATION OF CLASSIFICATION OF THIS CLASSIFICATION OF OF ABSTRACT REPORT PAGE ABSTRACT Unclassified Unclassified Unclassified UL NSN 7540-01-280-5500 Standard Form 298 (Rev. 2-89) Prescribed by ANSI Std. 239-18 i THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK ii Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited EXPANDING THE SHIELD AND FACING THE CHALLENGES; INTEGRATION OF WOMEN IN THE BOTSWANA DEFENCE FORCE Mpho C. Mophuting Major, Botswana Defence Force B.A., Saint Leo University, 1995 Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS IN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY AND CIVIL MILITARY RELATIONS from the NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL March 2003 Author: Mpho C. Mophuting Approved by: Karen Guttieri Thesis Advisor Donald Abenheim Second Reader J. Holmes Armstead Second Reader James W. Wirtz Chairman, Department of National Security Affairs iii THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK iv ABSTRACT Botswana remains one of the few countries in the world, and the only country in the South African Development Community (SADC) where females are legally prohibited from joining the military. The political and social pressures in the 21st century have softened the opposition of many influential politicians and bureaucrats to call for inclusionary statutes. This thesis examines the possibility of opening doors to women in the Botswana Defence Force (BDF). It examines the policies, programs and scope of the role of women in the U.S. armed services, Canadian Forces (CF) and the South African National Defence Forces (SANDF). It identifies from these highlights the most effective approaches to recruiting, training, and retaining women in the BDF once the opportunity is available. In particular, this thesis examines the six critical policies of the U.S. armed services and the CF, namely, sexual harassment, fraternization, employment of women, equal opportunity, pregnancy, and family care. This thesis considers the lessons from these for the BDF. Two critical cases of sexual harassment, (the 1991 Tailhook Navy and Marine Corps Convention and the 1996 U.S. Army’s Aberdeen Proving Ground incident), are highlighted in this thesis. The leading recommendations emphasize the need for the BDF to take the steps required to evoke a cultural change to affect the attitudes and perceptions of personnel and to examine how the SANDF administers its policies as they pertain to women. v THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK vi TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................1 A. BACKGROUND ..............................................................................................1 B. PURPOSE.........................................................................................................3 1. Objective ...............................................................................................3 2. Historical Background.........................................................................4 a. Research Questions...................................................................4 b. Recommendation to Rescind the Women in the Military Exclusionary Laws in Botswana ..............................................4 C. SCOPE AND ORGANIZATION ...................................................................4 1. Scope......................................................................................................4 2. Limitations and Assumptions .............................................................5 3. Organization.........................................................................................6 II. WOMEN IN SOCIETY AND WOMEN IN THE MILITARY...............................7 A. THE ROLE AND STATUS OF WOMEN IN THE 21ST CENTURY.........7 1. From Patriarchy to Diversity..............................................................7 2. The African Perception .....................................................................13 3. The Botswana Case............................................................................16 a. Rural Women ..........................................................................17 b. Young Working Class Women................................................18 c. Professional Middle and Upper Class Women ......................18 B. THE UNITED STATES MILITARY MODEL: CAN IT APPLY TO BATSWANA? ................................................................................................18 III. POLICY IMPLEMENTATION: RECRUITMENT, TRAINING, AND RETENTION OF WOMEN......................................................................................31 A. RECRUITMENT ...........................................................................................31 1. What Shape is the Recruitment Policy Likely to Take: Policy versus Practice....................................................................................31 2. Who Gets In........................................................................................32 B. TRAINING: GENDER INTEGRATED OR SEGREGATED.................34 1. The Integrationists Argument ..........................................................35 a. Problems with Integrated Training ........................................36 2. What Are the Integrationists Saying................................................37 3. Which Way BDF ................................................................................38