Gender and Sustainable Development in Lesotho: Some Critical Observations

Abstract

Research on development in Lesotho reveals that the bulk of sustainability of development initiatives was borne by women, primarily due to the absence of men on migrant work in South Africa. However, since the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, tens of thousands of Basotho men have been retrenched and are now back at home. A million dollar question is what will they do to promote Lesotho's sustainable development into the 21st century?
This paper uses rural development experiences in Lesotho to reflect on this question. Section one introduces the debates on gender and development. Section two provides a historical overview of gender and development in Lesotho. Section three makes some contemporary reflections on gender and sustainable development in Lesotho; whilst section four draws some conclusions.


(Review of Southern African Studies: 2000 4 (1): 94-106)