Botswana: Lorato ke Lorato - building conditions for marriage equality

In Botswana, LEGABIBO has launched Lorato ke Lorato (“Love is Love”), a public education and advocacy campaign that situates marriage equality within broader constitutional questions of dignity, equality, family, belonging and equal protection under the law. The campaign recognises that legal reform is most durable when accompanied by informed public dialogue, coalition-building and opportunities for communities to reflect on the values that underpin an inclusive democracy.

Through research, community dialogues, media engagement, cultural and faith-based conversations, and regional solidarity initiatives, Lorato ke Lorato seeks to deepen understanding of marriage equality as a matter of constitutional principle rather than special rights. Particular attention is being given to centering the experiences and leadership of lesbian, bisexual, queer and transgender women, whose perspectives have often been under-represented within both public discourse and social justice movements.

As part of this broader effort, LEGABIBO has applied to join the ongoing marriage equality proceedings before the High Court. The organisation seeks to assist the court by bringing a wider public-interest, constitutional and human rights perspective to the issues under consideration. Regardless of the outcome of the joinder application, the campaign underscores that strategic litigation is not confined to courtrooms. Rather, it is strengthened by evidence generation, public education and sustained engagement with diverse stakeholders. Though this campaign is not funded under the Marang Fund, the work unfolding in Botswana illustrates a central insight of the Marang Fund’s approach to strategic litigation: that transformative legal change is a collective endeavour. Court proceedings may clarify the law, but it is through movement-building, solidarity and the creation of spaces for dialogue that constitutional promises become lived realities. In this way, Lorato ke Lorato is helping to ensure that conversations about marriage equality contribute to a broader vision of a Botswana in which all people can live with dignity, safety and equal recognition before the law.