Resego Natalie Kgosidintsi is a Botswana

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...

activist and political candidate. In political circles, she is known as Petrol Bomb for her outspoken political beliefs.

Early life and education

Resego Kgosidintsi is the daughter of Bontsibokae and Colleen Kgosidintsi, born in

Serowe Serowe (population approximately 60,000) is an urban village in Botswana's Botswana Central District, Central District. A trade and commercial centre, it is Botswana's third largest village. Serowe has played an important role in Botswana's histor ...

, Botswana. As a child, she participated in school

debate team Debate is a process that involves formal discourse, discussion, and oral addresses on a particular topic or collection of topics, often with a moderator and an audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for opposing viewpoints. Historica ...

s, traveling to Ghana and Zimbabwe. She studied

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

at the

University of Botswana The University of Botswana (UB) was established in 1982, as the first institution of higher education in Botswana. The university currently has three campuses: one in the capital city Gaborone, one in Francistown, and another in Maun. The Unive ...

. While in university, Kgosidintsi served as the Student Representative Council's Minister of Information and Publicity, and she was the first woman chairperson of the Movement Against Student Suppression.

Career

Kgosidintsi has gained notoriety for her direct approach in protesting

violence against women Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence (GBV) or sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), violent, violence primarily committed by Man, men or boys against woman, women or girls. Such violence is often considered hat ...

. Politically, she has supported the Botswana National Front and its leader

Duma Boko Duma Gideon Boko (born 31 December 1969) is a Motswana politician and lawyer who is currently serving as the sixth President of Botswana since 1 November 2024 and as leader of the Umbrella for Democratic Change since 2012. He served as Leader of ...

. She describes herself as a "vagina justice activist" and supports the legalization of sex work. She has been involved with the mobilization of women political candidates in response to

gender inequality Gender inequality is the social phenomenon in which people are not treated equally on the basis of gender. This inequality can be caused by gender discrimination or sexism. The treatment may arise from distinctions regarding biology, psychology ...

in Botswana political bodies, seeking to have a woman contest every political seat in the

2024 Botswana general election General elections were held in Botswana on 30 October 2024 to determine the composition of the 13th Parliament of Botswana as well as local councils across the country. Up for election were 61 seats of the National Assembly of Botswana, National ...

. Kgosidintsi was Village Ward Secretary and Treasurer for

Gaborone Gaborone ( , , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Botswana, largest city of Botswana, with a population of 246,325 based on the 2022 census, about 10% of the total population of Botswana. Its metropolitan area is home to 534, ...

Central and was then elected as an additional member of BNF South Central Region. She then served as the secretary general of the

Botswana National Front The Botswana National Front (BNF) is a social democratic political party in Botswana. It was the main opposition party in Botswana from the 1969 elections until the 2024 elections. It is the largest component of the governing Umbrella for Demo ...

Women's League. In 2020, she was arrested and then released the following day, prompting criticism of the government for arresting opposition members. Kgosidintsi sought the presidency of the Botswana National Front Youth League in 2020. The contest was delayed until 2022, at which point she defeated opponent Carter Joseph by 337 votes to 26. She also sought the

Parliamentary In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

seat of the Gaborone Bonnington North constituency in 2022. Kgosidintsi caused controversy in October 2022 when she publicly criticized opposition party leadership for their inability to unseat the majority party.

Personal life

Kgosidintsi began dating politician Karabo Matonkomane in 2019. The couple announced in 2021 that they were expecting a child together. In 2022, she expressed her intention to join the

Botswana Defence Force The Botswana Defence Force (BDF, ) is the military of Botswana. The main component of the BDF is the Botswana Ground Force; there is also an air wing and a riverine patrol contingent attached to the ground forces, with 10 Panther airboats and 2 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kgosidintsi, Resego 21st-century Botswana women politicians 21st-century Botswana politicians Botswana activists Botswana National Front politicians Botswana women activists Botswana women's rights activists Living people University of Botswana alumni Year of birth missing (living people)