Lesotho:Malekula Masilo

“I did not know anything about gender equality until I met GL, I now know more about gender issues and human rights.”

I am a councillor at Botha-Bothe urban, I am working hand in hand with a local chief and I am a gender champion in the council. Being a leader can be tough sometimes because there must be a balance between creating a strategy, supporting and leading a way. Therefore, I have many responsibilities to do, I firstly give people a hope that I will do better things for them with passion. I am an effective leader who recognize women’s and men’s different needs. I mentor and helping other women up the ladder and making them more visible to the nations.

I am helping the orphans and needy children by connecting them with funding private sectors or government sectors like Social Development. I also bought school uniforms for such children and I ask donations for my society whenever possible. I assisted survivors and victims of abuse especially women to go for counselling to help to get back to their normal situations or resume their normal lives without a fear. Furthermore, I always report abuse even before it can happen. I am also supporting the associations that are formed in the community with some of their needs for the better growth, share with them knowledge and skills that I have so as to bring innovations to their societies.

I did the improvements on infrastructure in my community such as maintenance and construction of local roads in few villages. I was also able to assist some orphans and needy people with food in the community, as well as taking every opportunity whenever I see group

of people to instruct them about gender equality, to teach them about violence, how to avoid and how to stop it especially against women and children as they are the one who are vulnerable to any kind of abuse. This is because I had to take actions as soon as I was elected as to motivate the community.

I did the improvements on infrastructure in my community such as maintenance and construction of local roads in few villages. I was also able to assist some orphans and needy people with food in the community, as well as taking every opportunity whenever I see group of people to instruct them about gender equality, to teach them about violence, how to avoid and how to stop it especially against women and children as they are the one who are vulnerable to any kind of abuse.

I have a practical experience participating in politics. I attended several GL workshops where I was trained to become a better woman leader. I was also able to be chosen to represent other women councillors at the regional summit that was held at Johannesburg in South Africa, it was an amazing event for me because I turned to know the places I never knew, I met new people from difference countries and shared the skills or exchange the ideas. I came bag and teach my colleagues what I have learnt and we had a meeting where we were discussing how do we include gender issues in our policies as a council. My life has transformed, I know my rights and I am no longer ashamed about my gender status because I know that women also have powers and voices to change the world. There are still challenges that are happening, especially when it comes to gender issues, some men are still not interested to listen but we do awareness to reach large numbers of them.