COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN CONSIDERS REPORT OF LESOTHO
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women today considered the combined initial, second, third and fourth periodic reports of Lesotho on how that country is implementing the provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
Introducing the report, Mpeo Mahase-Moiloa, Minister of Justice and Human Rights and Correctional Services, said that women were playing an active role in Lesotho’s political sector with strong representation at national government level, and the new 30 per cent quota for local government seats. Gender-based violence was increasing and remained one of the principal challenges facing women in Lesotho. The new Penal Code Bill enhanced the definition of assault to include violence between spouses and established that rape could exist in certain circumstances among married persons. The HIV/AIDS epidemic remained one of the main developmental challenges facing Lesotho and women and girls were increasingly vulnerable to the epidemic. The Government was running intensive campaigns on new legislation, which focused on educating women, in particular about their rights. Despite prevailing financial constraints and developmental challenges Lesotho remained determined to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment.
Questions and issues raised by Experts during the discussion covered topics of political integration and measures taken to domesticate the CEDAW Convention, as well as school attendance and training for girls, women’s access to employment rights and the gender pay gap. The delegation was asked about the use of child labour, especially for HIV/AIDS orphans, the high maternal mortality and the growing HIV/AIDS infection rate among women and girls. Experts also asked questions on healthcare provisions, domestic violence and trafficking of persons.
In concluding remarks Mathabiso Lepono, Minister of Gender, Sports, Youth and Recreation, thanked the Committee for the stimulating, constructive and inspiring dialogue. Ms. Lepono noted that the session had been very useful and constructive and had contributed to a broadening of Lesotho’s understanding of the Convention. She reaffirmed the commitment of the Government to upholding the protection and enhancement of women's rights and pledged to continue upholding the Convention.
In preliminary concluding remarks, Silvia Pimentel, Chairperson of the Committee, commended the delegation for their efforts on the situation of women’s rights in Lesotho and encouraged the State party to take all necessary measures to address all of the recommendations of the Committee.
The delegation of Lesotho included the Minister of Gender, Sports, Youth and Recreation and the Minister of Justice, Human Rights and Correctional Service, and representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Relations, the Human Rights Unit in the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Gender, WLSA Lesotho, and the Permanent Mission of Lesotho to the United Nations Office at Geneva.
When the Committee reconvenes on Wednesday, 12 October at 10a.m., it is scheduled to begin its consideration of the combined initial, second, third and fourth periodic report of Chad (CEDAW/C/TCD/1-4).
Report
The combined initial, second, third and fourth periodic report of Lesotho (CEDAW/C/LSO/1-4) recalls that Lesotho ratified the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women in 1995. It states that the position of women in Lesotho has been progressively improving over the last 50 years, with increasing numbers of women holding decision making positions. Women are represented in all aspects of social, political and cultural life and have gradually gained emancipation from male authority. Nonetheless the report recognizes that women’s rights are still being violated and they still face labels of inferiority and cultural stigmatization. Positive steps have been taken and are aggressively continuing to be taken to rectify the situation. As public awareness of discrimination against women grows, so does the demand for action to eliminate such discrimination.
Improvements have been made to support women’s legal rights, particularly in property ownership and marriage. New laws protecting the rights of women include the Sexual Offences Act 2003 which recognizes marital rape as an offence, the Legal Capacity of Married Persons Act 2006, which removes the minority status of women married in community of property, the Labour Code Order 1992 which denies discrimination in the work place and the Labour Code Wages Act which provides for paid maternity leave for workers in some industries. A strategic plan on combating human trafficking is currently being drafted. In addition to the Sexual Offences Act other steps have been taken to combat gender based violence, including the opening of a protection unit and a child help line. A Domestic Violence Bill is currently being drafted.
The spread of HIV/AIDS has a disproportionate impact on women due to social and cultural factors, and to address the problem the Government has put forward dynamic programmes to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, and also to reduce the high maternal mortality rates. Regarding education, Lesotho has exceeded gender parity in access to primary education, and enacted the Education Act 2010 which provides for free and compulsory education. A policy to empower women in politics and decision-making positions has been put in place along with a 50/50 campaign to achieve gender parity in the political spheres. The Local Government Election Act reserves one third of positions for women, meaning women as a result currently hold 52.8 per cent of positions at local government level.
Presentation of the Report
MPEO MAHASE-MOILOA, Minister of Justice and Human Rights and Correctional Services, said that women were playing an active role in Lesotho’s political sector. The National Assembly Elections Act of 2011 provided that one third of seats in Local Government were reserved for women. The representation of women in Cabinet was now 39 per cent while 67 per cent of Assistant Ministers were women. Those achievements helped Lesotho be ranked first in sub-Saharan Africa by the Gender Gap Index, and eighth in the world for closing the Gender Gap, by 76.8 per cent in 2010. The Government enacted the Land Act in June 2010, which repealed the discriminatory Land Act of 1979 and provided for equal title to land for both men and women. It also introduced lease hold in rural areas which facilitated women’s access to credit by using land as collateral.
Gender-based violence was increasing and remained one of the main challenges facing women in Lesotho. Measures had been taken to train police officials, the judiciary and religious leaders, which resulted in increased awareness and reporting of cases of gender-based violence. The new Penal Code Bill enhanced the definition of assault to include violence between spouses and established that rape could exist in certain circumstances among married persons. As a step to combating the trafficking of persons the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2011 was enacted. A shelter had been opened for victims of trafficking, which offered counselling services and training. HIV/AIDS remained one of the main developmental challenges facing Lesotho and women were increasingly vulnerable to the epidemic. Measures taken to combat that included the HIV/AIDS Strategic Plan 2011 to 2016. A new campaign called for action on reducing maternal and new-born mortality, which had led to more women giving birth at health facilities. Paid maternity leave had been extended to 90 days, and working women were allowed two hours per day of nursing time for their babies for a further six months. The Children’s Protection and Welfare Act of 2011 mandated that marriage for children below the age of 18 years was illegal.
The Government was running intensive media and public gathering campaigns on the new developments, which focused on educating women in particular about their rights and other opportunities provided by other legislative changes, such as an Act which removed the minority status of women. Despite prevailing financial constraints and developmental challenges Lesotho remained determined to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment. Women’s health and rights were the building blocks of stable societies and growing economies. When you empower a woman you empower a nation.
Questions from Experts
A Committee Expert asked the delegation what measures were being taken to domesticate the CEDAW Convention.
Was the independent human rights institution able to take complaints of discrimination by women? Without the national human rights commission, what access to justice was there for women? Were there family courts? What was the legal capacity of unmarried persons?
An Expert commended the delegation for including two Ministers, but asked about the reservations of the Government to the Convention. Many were withdrawn in 2004, but not all. What was the timeframe to implement more legislation on women's rights?
Replies by the Delegation
In response to the questions and comments, the delegation said that the Convention had had an impact and influence on Lesotho’s legislation, and that amounted to the domestication of the Convention. The Married Persons’ Equality Bill, the Land Act Bill and the National Assembly Bill were just three examples.
There was a draft bill on the establishment of Lesotho’s Human Rights Commission, which would be one of the first bills to be piloted in the next parliament of Lesotho. The Government could not move at the speed they would like on establishing that because of financial restrictions, although technical support received from the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights was appreciated. However other national infrastructure had provision for upholding the human rights of the people of Lesotho.
Regarding the legal capacity of unmarried persons, all women, regardless of their marital status, could now be directors of companies. The children of single parents now had the right to inherit their property.
The legal aid department of the Ministry of Justice had been increased from three to 20 lawyers. The biggest client group was women, and the lawyers focused daily on addressing the plight of women in various aspects. Mediation facilities had been opened as a cheap and inclusive form of justice for women and other clients, and restorative justice had been introduced.
Questions from Experts
How did the authorities ensure proper support for the effective functioning of gender mainstreaming? What was the role of the Ministry for Gender when it came to operating with community authorities?
What was the relationship between the duel legal system of civil and customary law in Lesotho? Under Lesotho customary law, women were still treated as minors.
What was envisaged for the new law on violence – would it include sanctions commensurate to the level of crime? Mediation may not allow for sanctions.
Lesotho’s remarkable effort to include women in the political process was commended. Regarding the temporary special measures of proportional representation, was that the first attempt towards equality at national parliament level?
Response from the Delegation
The Ministry for Gender received 20 per cent of the overall Ministry for Gender, Sports, Youth and Recreation’s budget. The Ministry received a high level of political support from the Prime Minister and the King of Lesotho, among others. There were 18 members of staff at head quarters, but gender officers were posted in every district of Lesotho. A gender technical committee, which included civil society, met monthly. At village level public gatherings and workshops were held to enable communities to understand gender issues and new legislation.
Over 60 per cent of the population of Lesotho were women, and with that majority they were a political force that could make or break any Government. Since pre-colonial times there had been legislation that discriminated against women, and the Government was actively working to change that. The model for proportional representation provided that every local community council had to have at least 30 per cent of seats occupied by women. The same model would be used to increase the number of women in parliament at the next elections.
Civil marriage allowed a customary marriage, whereas any customary marriage after a civil marriage was invalid. The legal capacity did protect customary marriage.
There was a process of consultation over the inclusion of domestic violence details in the new law on violence. Consultations on domestic violence began with a study by a women's rights non-governmental organization in Lesotho. Legislation did normally include sanctions.
Questions from Experts
An Expert referred again to the duel legal system, which was not unusual in that region of Africa. Efforts to change those traditional practices were challenging, but the Expert asked about the practice on the ground of those traditional laws, as alternative sources indicated that women were still perpetual minors under those laws, and could neither own land or sign a contract. How were women educated about their rights and the new legislative changes? Were local courts enforcing the new legal provisions?
Would education be a way of supporting teaching on human rights and women's rights within the establishment of schools? It was also important to challenge male behaviour regarding domestic violence and HIV/AIDS, for which many men refused to go to hospital, leading to a proliferation of cases and the high number of AIDS orphans.
Would it be possible to use the media to change attitudes to gender equality? What measures had been taken to reach remote populations that were alienated from the law?
An Expert asked about customary practices, especially female genital mutilation. The Government had rejected recommendations by the Committee for measures to eradicate the practice of female genital mutilation. Was female genital mutilation still practised in Lesotho, and what action was being taken to eliminate all such practices? What would be the situation for immigrants practicing female genital mutilation?
There was a female football team in Lesotho that acted as a valuable example for women in Lesotho – was it supported by the Government in that role?
Was it true that in Lesotho girls suffered corporal punishment in the home? Was that prohibited, and if not, could the practice of corporal punishment be criminalized?
The Sexual Offences Act of 2003 recognized marital rape as an offence, but only in specified circumstances – would the new penal code also address marital rape? Could the delegation elaborate on the drafting of a domestic violence bill?
Response from the Delegation
The delegation responded to questions and comments by saying that there was a pilot project to take care of survivors of domestic violence: a ‘one-stop shop’ shelter based in the capital city. It was a mixed-sex day centre, not a residential shelter. If mediation between the man and woman worked, she could go home on the same day, but if not there were facilities for women to stay overnight. Once her life was no longer in danger she could leave. It was hoped that once finances were available they could build more, and women-only, shelters in all ten districts of Lesotho.
Marital rape was established as a new offence under the Sexual Offences Act and the Penal Code. A domestic violence bill was in the pipeline, but was held up by finances.
The jurisdiction of local courts was limited only to the application of customary law. The central courts remained open. Education was a good tool for making people aware of their human rights, and the delegation thought that the human rights unit was collaborating with the Ministry of Education, and also holding awareness campaigns that targeted the elderly in villages, especially with the help of the media.
Lesotho as a nation believed in the power of mediation, while the legal aid office was being restructured to ensure permanent legal aid officers in every district. Currently there were ‘roving’ legal aid clinics moving around all of the districts. Lesotho had one of the most difficult terrains to penetrate, but the establishment of local government elections created a structure to disseminate laws, and any other information, to communities in remote areas.
Lesotho does not practice female genital mutilation. The Minister of Gender, Sports, Youth and Recreation said she had been personally involved in a lobbying group to lobby other countries practising female genital mutilation. Lesotho was only allowed to be part of that delegation because they did not practice female genital mutilation. Lesotho did not only reject the recommendations, they totally rejected the allegation. If immigrants practising female genital mutilation became an issue then the Government would legislate for it.
The women’s football team was financially supported by the Government, via distributions from the Ministry for Sports.
Corporal punishment was illegal in the home, and under the education bill also for young children in schools: if a child was assaulted it was considered a criminal case. The Penal Code stated that chastisement could continue, for example a small whip at home, but it should not be excessive punishment – in which case it would be assault.
Questions from Experts
An Expert asked what were the root causes of human trafficking – if poverty was one, how was that tackled? What awareness-raising plan was in place, especially via radio? There was no law on the exploitation on prostitutes? There were allegations that syndicated crime groups were involved in trafficking of persons – what measures had been taken to deal with those groups?
Response from the Delegation
Concerning tackling poverty as a root cause of trafficking, the Ministry of Gender had a credit scheme for young boys and girls (15 to 35 age group). That scheme aimed to fight poverty through entrepreneurship and other measures. Other methods of fighting poverty were free primary education and pension schemes.
The Government had a policy of enhancing manufacturing industries in Lesotho to address poverty. Around 56,000 people were employed in that industry, and target employees were young women around the entire country. The Government financed and sustained that industry to keep women in employment, and thus empowered.
There was only one shelter for victims of trafficking, as mentioned earlier, that was also for victims of domestic violence. Another nine shelters would be built throughout the country when funds were available. The Government had not sought any technical assistance on building shelters and tackling domestic violence and would be pleased to accept any technical assistance for the betterment of their women.
Human trafficking was an offence in Lesotho. The crime was a challenge for all countries, but in particular tackling cross-border offences, especially those driven by the Internet, was extremely difficult. The Government was trying to use information technology to tackle those new types of crimes, trafficking included. There was joint cooperation between the police of Lesotho and South Africa on tackling cross-border trafficking, in addition to awareness raising. The National Action Plan on human trafficking was being finalised.
Prostitution was illegal in Lesotho, it only happened in privacy. The police sometimes mishandled situations but it did not amount to discrimination as the police would handle male prostitutes in the same manner as women prostitutes.
Questions from Experts
Women were excluded from acceding to the throne of Lesotho. What other political power and positions were they excluded from?
Communities were evolving in Lesotho: was there a localized dialogue on those changes?
An Expert said that the 50/50 gender divide of the delegation was commendable and a first, and all the more so because of Lesotho’s history of colonization and it being a relatively new country. In a few years Lesotho had achieved things that many developed and rich countries had not been able to do. Although Lesotho had not achieved gender parity, it had made a lot of progress. Finance was needed for progress to be achieved and doors needed to be opened by the Government of Lesotho.
Response by the Delegation
The delegation said they were not aware they had made so much progress compared to other countries, and thanked the Expert for her encouraging words. Lesotho needed both technical and financial support.
Women in Lesotho were not barred from any decision-making decisions apart from the throne. Culture defined who you were, and the United Nations did not intend to make one international culture. In Lesotho, men married women into their families, and when a woman got married it was a loss to her family, as she went to join another family. Those were the issues surrounding succession – if the Princess got married she would become a member of the other family. That was a big issue the nation must pronounce itself on. The Constitution mandated the Government to enact a referendum, and that would be used to pose a number of questions including accession and abolition of the death penalty.
Questions by Experts
An Expert asked when might the referendum on certain provisions of the constitution take place? One provision of concern was the discriminatory marriage law which stipulated that if a woman married a non-Lesotho citizen she lost her citizenship and could not pass hers on to her husband. By way of comparison, other regional countries such as Botswana and Mauritius had changed their discriminatory marriage laws following test cases.
An Expert noted the high enrollment level of girls at primary school, 82 per cent. However 18 per cent of girls still did not attend primary school, especially those from rural areas. The reasons could be domestic labour, HIV/AIDS, the costs of text books and proximity of schools to homes. What provisions were there for free text books and more schools and trained teachers?
In the secondary sector there had been a focus on female enrollment, but enrollment levels were still low, and reform was urgently needed in that area. At university level there was higher enrollment of girls, but mainly in traditional feminine studies. There was under representation of girls in science and technology. Were there any incentives to rectify that situation?
Concerning violence and sexual harassment against girls in school, there were measures to deal with offenders, particularly teachers, but the delegation had not provided any details on the situation of harassment against girl pupils.
Response by the Delegation
In response to these questions and comments, the delegation said that in Lesotho’s culture “a man marries and a woman is married”. The woman was automatically taken into her husband’s family. So if a woman married out of Lesotho, married a foreigner, she would lose her citizenship and gain that of her husband’s. Of course that was discrimination and cultural practice was no excuse, but the Government could not change everything at once. Debates on the topic were ongoing. The Government was committed to removing all discriminatory laws, and ultimately would get there, but Rome was not built in a day.
The distance girls had to walk to school was the first factor for them not attending, and the distance was equally an issue for boys. It was now Government policy that schools should not be more than 1 kilometre from a village, a very reasonably provision given the Lesotho terrain. In the worst case scenario the largest class size in Lesotho was 40 children, thanks to Government policy to increase school numbers and teachers.
The HIV/AIDS pandemic meant the girl child had a problem attending school because if the mother became sick the girl always ended up caring for her, or if both parents were dead the girl would look after her younger siblings. It would be better if the girl could carry her baby siblings to school, and then leave them in an attached daycare or crèche while she attended school.
Policies encouraging girls and women to study in non-traditional fields such as science and technology were not in place as such but the Government was actively working against the flooding of the market by skills that were not useful. For example there were too many teachers and too few jobs for them, so persons were discouraged from training as teachers. Furthermore, in 2011 alone 40 scholarships were given to women to study medicine in foreign universities.
Any sexual harassment of a child under 16 years was considered to be rape under the Sexual Offences Act. The Government had actively taken measures to combat that crime. The 2010 Education Act provided that no child would be denied the right to education on account of pregnancy. However the Government was actively engaging in campaigns and programmes to prevent teenage pregnancies.
Questions by Experts
Concerning equal pay for women and men, an Expert noted that the good performance of girls at school was not translated into the work sector. Women earned only 45 per cent of men’s average monthly earnings in the private sector, and 83 per cent of men’s earnings in the public sector. Lesotho had ratified both International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions on this issue, but did Lesotho have any specific provisions on equal pay for equal work, and equal pay for equal value? Was there a patriarchal system that believed women should earn less than their husbands?
Many young girls were going to work instead of going to school in Lesotho: could the Government work on measures to avoid young girls working as domestic workers?
The ILO had a global campaign about children younger than 17 carrying out paid work in the textile industry. Child labour was a huge issue in Lesotho. Was Lesotho considering ratifying the convention that this year they finally signed up to?
There was disparity in the maternity allowance for women working in the textile industry, who had two weeks of maternity leave, while women in other sectors had six weeks of maternity leave. There was no law legislating women’s right to maternity leave. Did the Government plan on doing anything about this?
Response by the Delegation
The Minister responded that she had never heard of the concept of equal pay for equal work. That would be something the Government would look at. As women entered higher ranking jobs they would have more power to implement equal pay.
It was an offence to employ a child of a school-going age. Hopefully a difference would soon be evident, and it would lift those children out of the work place and back into the classroom. This could happen if childcare provision could be made for younger siblings in schools, and free meals could be provided. The issue of children (under 18 years old) working instead of being at school affected boys as well as girls. That was a direct consequence of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and those children were usually orphans and the head of their households, working to support younger siblings. Those were the challenges Lesotho faced.
There had never really been a problem for equal opportunities for women choosing subjects – it had always been a question of capability. Women were represented in good numbers even at the highest level. A problem was that children went abroad to study medicine but never came back to Lesotho as doctors. The plan of sending 40 women abroad to study medicine was a hope that a good number of them would come back to work as women doctors in Lesotho.
The Labour Code Act was the way of domesticating the ILO conventions Lesotho was privy to, and applied to the private sector – it was not used in the civil service. Under the Labour Code employees were entitled to two weeks maternity leave if they had worked for less than a year, and six weeks if it had been over a year. If there were incompatibilities between the Labour Code and the ILO the Government would address that.
Questions by the Experts
An Expert said the report gave the impression that many advances had been made in health. However there appeared to be an inconsistency between measures described and what was happening on the ground. There was a low life expectancy, a high rate of maternal mortality and women had a higher rate of HIV/AIDS infection than men. What was the current status of maternal mortality?
Lesotho women had a high rate of fertility – on average over five children per women – which was neither desirable for a woman’s health or for an economically challenged society.
HIV/AIDS was a major challenge for Lesotho. There was cooperation with UNAIDS and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and an attempt had been made to avoid mother to child transmission. Sexual transmission was the main means of HIV transmission. The report stated that 70 per cent of women used modern contraception; was contraception used to prevent sexually transmitted diseases as well as for family planning? The report said there was no national strategy for the use of condoms. The use of condoms was a fundamental factor in preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Furthermore there had been no reference to sexual education – what was being done in schools, the public sphere and through the media? This was very important to reduce teenage pregnancies, teenage abortion rates, and maternal mortality?
Abortion was illegal in Lesotho, but there was a high prevalence of abortion in the country. Girls as young as age 10 had gone through abortion, and 13 per cent of girls age 10 to 19 had had an abortion. Furthermore 16 per cent of patients on OBGYN wards were there for complications resulting from abortions: there was an epidemic of abortion-related complications in hospitals. Were those all illegal and unsafe abortions? Abortion related deaths were the main cause of maternal mortality.
Response by the Delegation
The delegation, responding to questions and comments, said the inconsistency was true, and historically the Government took measures to revolutionize the health system, it had one of the highest subsidized health services in the world. Soon the ongoing MCA project to construct over 100 new health centres, and upgrade 50 existing ones – as well as road improvement schemes - would be implemented, which would reduce the length some women had to travel to get healthcare, or to give birth in a health facility. The infant mortality rate was very high but the reforms meant that statistics in that area would soon decrease.
A major problem was the Lesotho doctors funded in their overseas training by the State, who then stayed to work in the developed world because they found higher salaries and better working conditions there. The developed world was taking Lesotho personnel to service their own health services, which was seriously crippling the health services of the developing world. That was both a serious and a taboo issue which needed addressing.
Women were not capacitated enough to negotiate safe sex, the delegation said. The Government had two campaigns: the ABC campaign (abstain, be faithful, use a condom), followed by the Know Your Status campaign to detect HIV earlier and help treat sufferers. Those were the initiatives the Government was taking to tackle the HIV pandemic.
The next survey on maternal mortality would be at the end of 2011. Abortion in Lesotho was only allowed for medical reasons, or if the pregnancy was a result of rape or incest. It was difficult to accurately report on how many illegal abortions there were.
Questions by Experts
A Committee member said that there was difficulty in obtaining a passport – was anything being done about that?
The delegation was asked for more information on the situation of rural women and women with disabilities, older women and widows. What percentage of women lived in rural areas? Could there be more information on the food insecurity situation?
Response by the Delegation
Lesotho had changed tremendously and there had been great improvement in services for rural women, the delegation said. Most villages now had electricity. The Government was constructing roads all over the country, access to water and sanitation was vastly improved and there were many schools and many rural children attended university. There was a campaign to make women aware of trafficking in rural areas.
The slow issuing of passports was being addressed and preparations to move to an E-passport system were at an advanced stage.
Food insecurity mostly affected women. The Government was finalizing a Strategic Plan to create food security. The area of animal husbandry was better understood by the bulk of the population. However the food industry was slow to answer criticisms.
Concluding Remarks
MATHABISO LEPONO, Minister of Gender, Sports, Youth and Recreation, said that on behalf of the Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho, on her own behalf and of behalf of the delegation, they were delighted by the stimulating, constructive and inspiring dialogue. The delegation noted that the session had been very useful and constructive and had contributed to a broadening of Lesotho’s understanding of the Convention. She reaffirmed the commitment of the Government to uphold the protection and enhancement of women's rights and pledged to continue upholding the Convention.
In preliminary concluding remarks, SILVIA PIMENTEL, Chairperson of the Committee, commended the delegation for their efforts on the situation of women’s rights in Lesotho and encouraged the State party to take all necessary measures to address all of the recommendations of the Committee.
For use of the information media; not an official record
CEDAW11/021E