International Women's Day 2022

GOOD MORNING, PLEASE ALLOW ME TO PAY MY RESPECTS TO:

HIS MAJESTY KING LETSIE III, 

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE PRIME MINISTER,  

ALL GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS AND ALL DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS PRESENT HERE TODAY

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN 

ALL PROTOCOLS OBSERVED 

I welcome you all today as we commemorate International Women’s Day, a day which the United Nations began to celebrate almost 50 years ago because it was important to finally recognize that women’s rights are also fundamental human rights.

The commemoration of this day is still as relevant as it was in 1975. Today we celebrate how far women have come in fighting for their rights, and to mention a few, the right to be free from violence, discrimination, to own land, to vote, to be educated, to earn equal wages and many more.

We are indeed recognizing today that women are entitled to these rights, yet they are still denied to many women. How many women in Lesotho have been killed in the past year alone due to Gender Based Violence? How many have been sexually assaulted? How many in our communities are victims of child marriage? The narrative must change, and for change we need to not tire in fighting for the rights of women because winning for women’s rights means we are winning in how society will function. Our society is not equal until we are all equal.

Equality has always had a place in our culture and old age Lesotho. This is visible everywhere in Basotho history, From Queen ‘Manthatisi of the Batlokoa, Queen ‘Mantsebo and ‘me’ ‘Masechele Khaketla the author, educator and one of the first advocates for equality in modern Lesotho, let us continue to uphold their values.

The theme for this years International Women’s day “gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow” is calling for climate action for women and by women. The current climate crisis has an impact on women, we have already experienced these detrimental effects of heavy rains and droughts, which both have had an impact on agriculture and therefore food security of this country.

It is mostly women, particularly in rural areas who feel the brunt as they are dependent on natural resources to sustain their families. I therefore want to applaud the contribution of women and girls around the world and in Lesotho who are taking charge on climate change adaptation, mitigation, and response and I want to encourage more women to join this movement.

While Lesotho is a minimum polluter, the effects of climate change are already visibly hard and are compounded by limited resources, HIV and AIDS, covid 19 and other issues. Women have been the biggest causalities in all.

The UN working with the government of Lesotho has supported the values of equality and continue to do so. From creating platforms in the National reforms, engendering the Human Rights Commission in anticipation of the passing of the Bill, to supporting the long overdue CEDAW reporting.

I Call upon women, men and all persons in Lesotho to champion equality. Particularly men and women and non-gender conforming persons in rural Lesotho, whose knowledge is premised on what has been passed down for generations and has brought us this far.

I also invite CSOs, private sector and every Mosotho to partake in advocating for equality for a sustainable tomorrow together.

At this juncture I also want to invite the government to speed up the enactment of the domestic violence Bill and the omnibus Bill both that will catalyze the protection of human rights for women and the protection of right.

We need to place gender equality at the centre of our development efforts if we want to stand a chance at solving the many development challenges we have, women have the capabilities, ideas, and leadership to solve them.

I thank you!

KHOTSO PULA NALA