JURIST
A Life in Justice
Unity Dow’s career as a jurist is a testament to her unwavering dedication to justice and equality. Through her work as a lawyer, judge, and international legal expert, she has shaped laws, challenged discrimination, and upheld the principles of fairness on both national and global stages.
She gained prominence for taking on cases that others deemed too controversial, including those addressing gender equality and human rights.
One of her most notable cases was the landmark Attorney General v Unity Dow which challenged Botswana’s discriminatory citizenship laws and secured equal rights for women to pass citizenship to their children.
Her legal career is defined by a commitment to advocating for the marginalized and ensuring that the law serves as a tool for empowerment and fairness.
When the Law said: "Her children could not be citizens of her country Botswana."
She...
- successfully challenged the constitutionality of the law resulting in the seminal court decision of The Attorney General v Unity Dow 1992 BLR 119.
- paved the way to the government’s total overhaul of laws affecting women, bringing them into compliance with the ruling in the Dow Case.
When the Law said:
She...
- Initiated marches and protests
- Used theatre and drama
- Mounted workshops and seminars
- Wrote novels
When the Law said: "Her GBV client could not seek protection from the courts without first reporting a matter to the police."
She...
- found an obscure and never before used provision in the law to gain them direct access to Magistrate courts
- moved a motion in Parliament calling for the establishment of dedicated officers to facilitate the use of the still unutilised protective legal provision
When the Law said: "A married woman who moves out of the marital home prior to getting a divorce, could not have access to any of the joint marital property."
She...
introduced the concept of “access and use” of joint property without the need for its division
successfully enlisted the police, on pain of being responsible if such a woman was assaulted by her husband, to overseeing peaceful removal of said property
When the Law said: "Despite the law providing for life sentence for rape, Magistrates could and did sentence rape convicts to 3-year jail terms."
She...
bused women 80km from Mochudi to Molepolole, to attend a rape trial with the result that the perpetrator received a ten-year jail term, then the highest ever handed down.
initiated protest marches against the low sentences in rape cases.
successfully participated in advocating for legislative reforms that led to the setting of ten years as the minimum sentence for rape
When the Law said: "Her under-age pregnant rape victim client could not have the pregnancy terminated because of hospital superintendent was Catholic; and that the rape victim could not give evidence because she was deaf and mute."
She...
successfully sued the government, compelling the termination of the pregnancy
challenged the traditional evidence taking methods and facilitated the trial and conviction of the perpetrator
When the Law said: "The children of her 188 clients were only entitled to P40/month (US$13) for child support as a lawyer."
She...
- paralysed the court system by filing 188 court cases, clogging the system, with the result that no other case could be registered
- shone a light on the discriminatory provisions of a law that placed unfair financial burden on women and discriminated against children born out of marriage.
- forced Parliament to pass a new child support law that is non-discriminatory on the basis of sex of the parent or marital status of the mother
When the Law said: "The Bushmen/Basarwa could not live or hunt in their ancestral land."
She...
held that the Bushmen had a right to their ancestral land
When the law said: "The LGBTQI+ community could not organise and associate publicly."
She...
successfully sued the government, leading to the registration of Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals of Botswana (LEGABIBO)
When the Law said: "The administration of corporal punishment was just, despite injury to her client."
She...
- successfully sued the government for financial compensation.