VOLUME 11 NO 2 93 TRANSFORMING WOMEN’S ROLE IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN LESOTHO THROUGH A WOMEN’S QUOTA Sofonea Shale Sofonea Shale is the Coordinator of Development for Peace Education in Lesotho e-mail:
[email protected] ABSTRACT Lesotho introduced a quota for women in local government in 2005 amid different interpretations of the concept and the general preparations for elections. The phase II era of decentralisation, after the quota for women was introduced, was marked by the October 2011 local government elections. In both instances a deliberate effort was made to reserve one-third representation for women, though each time in a different way. This article analyses the way in which the government’s efforts to use a legal framework to challenge traditional and patriarchal tendencies have evolved. It argues that while the introduction of a quota is a good development it was not properly institutionalised in 2005, nor have the changes introduced in 2011 improved the situation. The article argues that insufficient dialogue has led the government and civil society to miss a valuable opportunity to use a women’s quota in local government to change women’s political, social and economic status. INTRODUCTION The post-colonial state in Africa, itself a product of authoritarianism, exploitation and oppression, has been struggling to find a power-sharing formula in polarised and fragmented societies. Although democracy was expected to replace the colonial state as well as oppressive customary and patriarchal rule with a Bill of Rights guaranteeing rights to every citizen, the new dispensation seems to have built upon existing disparities.