WLSA, EISA Undertake Pilot Study on Gender and Politics

Women and Law in Southern Africa (WLSA) Lesotho and the Electoral Institute of Southern Africa (EISA) have initiated a pilot study to determine the extend to which  women were granted opportunities to
participate in the 2002 general elections in Lesotho. The study is expected to be completed by the end of March this year.

WLSA national coordinator Mrs. Keiso Matashane Marite said in an interview that with specific focus on gender and politics, WLSA wishes to establish the extend of women's participation in the elections. This will be done by reviewing the laws as well as the general administration of the election.

 To try make the  study a success, WLSA will arrange meetings with various stakeholders including the Independent Electoral Commissions and politicians, and would also search the archives of the Interim Political Authority (IPA), to get exact figures on women participation, Mrs. Matashane Marite said.

It is anticipated that when complete, the study will be a guiding tool for decision makers on among others, how best to mainstream gender issues into politics, as well as to determine whether much is being done to  encourage and support women's participation in politics. This will be done by revisiting policies and laws to establish the extend to which the political system accommodates women's participation in politics in Lesotho.

WLSA hopes that the study will go a long way in assisting the country realise effective and sustainable democratic governance in Lesotho, other SADC member's states as well as in the whole of Africa. While the study is intended to guide Basotho women's participation in politics, it is also undertaken as a step towards the realization of the SADC gender and development declaration, which states that by 2005, SADC parliaments should have at least 30% representation of women in Parliament, the national coordinator said.

The organisation would also encourage women to participate in the forth-coming local government elections, with the assistance of the study's findings. 

The pilot study is being undertaken in Lesotho and Zimbabwe, as preparation for a bigger study to cover all the SADC member states.

19 January 2004