On Wednesday, September 18th, 2024, the Embassy of the United States of America in Lesotho held an event under the theme “Inspire Young Women Participation in Politics”. In attendance were the Deputy Prime Minister, Hon. Justice Nthomeng Majara; Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Hon. Tšepang Tšita-Mosena; the United States of America (USA) Embassy Chargé d’affaires, Thomas Hine; high-ranking government officials, young women from local tertiary institutions, and the United States Embassy staff. NUL was represented by Dr. Mamello Rakolobe and 5 female students from the Department of Political and Administrative Studies (PAS).
Dr. Mamello Rakolobe from PAS presented an “Overview of Women in Lesotho Politics: Challenges and Opportunities.” She indicated that the participation of women in politics is a human right and it is essential for good governance, democracy and for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs).
She further stated that since women share similar interests and perspectives, they can better be presented by other women in legislative bodies. She pointed out that though Lesotho is a signatory to international protocols on gender equality in politics, men continue to dominate women in public decision-making bodies. This is because women face socio-economic, political, and cultural barriers that limit their participation in politics. As such, Lesotho is highly unlikely to achieve gender equality in politics stipulated in the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
Nonetheless, she indicated that there are opportunities for young women to access leadership positions in the public decision-making bodies as the country has adopted the electoral gender quota system in the national and local government elections. Another positive development is the existence of the Youth Policy that aims to extend the electoral gender quota system to cover the youth. Additionally, the country has a female Deputy Prime Minister (who was also the first woman to become the Chief Justice of Lesotho), and a female Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly who radiate a role model-effect on the aspiring female politicians. She however argued that Lesotho still has a long way to go in ensuring gender equality in politics.
Both Hon. Justice Nthomeng Majara and Hon. Tšepang Tšita-Mosena encouraged young women to join politics so that they can participate in the formulation of laws and policies that impact their lives. They made insightful and thought-provoking presentations on the factors that motivated them to join politics, the challenges they face and their strategies in traversing the highly hostile political space.
