The Changing Family Structure and Legal Lag in Lesotho: Implications for the Future

Abstract

Universally, the family is seen as the building block of the society. In
Lesotho family law, proclamation 74 of 1871 succinctly spelled out those
whom the society recognised as being married under the customary and
Christian tradition. Over the years, the migration of able-bodied Lesotho
men, especially in the very last quarter of the Twentieth Century, affected
this marriage system and contributed in various ways to the prevalence of
women single-parents and co-habitation. Today, over 50% of Lesotho
households are headed by women; but women are still considered as minors.
This paper examines the Laws of Lesotho on women's rights and the status of
children qualified to inherit their parents' property. It observes that
many children born out of wedlock who constitute about 30% of the children's
population have no status of legitimacy and thus cannot inherit property.
The paper recommends that new family laws enacted in response to the
changing circumstances; laws that could match the permissive society, halt
abuse of women and children and instil sanity into the family structure.


JOURNAL OF THE PAN AFRICAN ANTHROPOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION Number 1 Volume VIII March 2001, pp. 69-84