From the unpaved roads of Mochudi to the highest echelons of justice and governance, Unity Dow has forged a path defined by courage, compassion, and conviction.
She stands as a pioneer—and continues to lead—shaping the legal, educational, and cultural landscapes of Botswana and beyond.
Born in rural Mochudi on April 23, 1959, Unity Diswai grew up in a community without electricity, telephones, or even a refrigerator until her teenage years.
Her parents, valuing education deeply, ensured that all seven children completed university—a remarkable feat in that era and place.
Excelling in school and fueled by her love of reading, she earned a scholarship to study law at the University of Botswana and Swaziland and later at the University of Edinburgh.
Returning to Botswana in 1983, Dow became a criminal prosecutor and by 1986 had launched the country’s first all-woman law firm.
She co-founded vital legal advocacy groups such as Emang Basadi (Stand Up for Women), Women and Law in Southern Africa (WLSA), and the Metlhaetsile Women’s Information Centre, laying a foundation for women’s rights across the region.
In 1992, she dared to challenge the Botswana Citizenship Act—arguing that it unjustly denied children nationality through their mothers.
Her legal victory in Attorney General v Unity Dow dismantled a discriminatory law, enabling children to derive citizenship from their mothers and igniting a continent-wide wave of reform.
Her legacy of bold jurisprudence continued when, in 2006, she presided over the landmark Basarwa or Bushmen case (Roy Sesana and Others v. the Government of Botswana).
Dow struck down government measures that forbade indigenous Basarwa from living and hunting on ancestral land, mandating restoration of services, land access, and compensation. In addition, in 2014, Dow served as legal counsel for LEGABIBO—the Lesbians, Gays & Bisexuals of Botswana—successfully advocating for their legal recognition in a historic win for LGBTQI+ rights .
A trailblazer in every sense, Unity Dow became the first woman appointed to Botswana’s High Court in 1997, serving with distinction for 11 years before retiring in 2009 to teach law abroad at institutions including Washington and Lee University, University of Cincinnati, and Columbia Law School.
Her impact extends beyond law.
She co-founded Baobab Primary School in Gaborone and later The Dow Academy in Mochudi, along with the AIDS Action Trust—the nation’s first NGO focused on HIV/AIDS—which she further supported by serving on the Botswana-Harvard AIDS Partnership’s Data Safety Management Board.
In 2014, Dow entered Botswana’s political arena, appointed by the President as a Special Elected Member of Parliament.
She went on to hold several key ministerial portfolios—including Education and Skills Development, Infrastructure and Housing, and International Affairs and Cooperation—before stepping back to a backbench role in 2020.
As an author, she has published insightful novels and nonfiction exploring gender, heritage, social justice, and public health.
Notable works include Far and Beyond’ (on AIDS and societal change), The Screaming of the Innocent (on ritual killing), and Saturday is for Funerals (on the AIDS epidemic), as well as Judging Unity, which explores her own landmark case.
Her contributions have been recognized globally: she has received three honorary LL.D. degrees—from Kenyon College, St. Michael’s College, and the University of Edinburgh—and was awarded France’s esteemed Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur for her human rights activism.
In recent years, Dow has continued to influence public discourse—from offering critique in Parliament on national budgetary priorities to making strategic shifts in her political alignment in 2023, joining the Botswana Congress Party to seek deeper impact within a structure she respects. While some controversy followed her ministerial tenure, including questions over procedural oversight, her reputation as a principled changemaker remains widely affirmed.
Unity Dow’s journey from rural adversity to national and international prominence reflects more than personal triumph—it embodies justice in action.
She has wielded the law to dismantle discrimination, guarded indigenous survival, championed marginalized voices, nurtured education, and woven stories that reflect and reshape society.
Her life is a living testament to the power of one individual’s unwavering belief in equality, compassion, and transformation.
