African Journals Online
Review of Southern African Studies

A Multidisciplinary Journal of Arts, Social and Behavioural Sciences
Volume 3 No. 2 December 1999

Lesotho's Non-governmental Organisations: Competent Watch-dogs for Democracy?

Maria Motebang
Department of Development Studies
Rand Afrikaans University
Auckland Park


Abstract

The paper evaluates the impact of the role of Non-Governmental Organisations in Lesotho on the constitutional crisis of 1994. It argues that Lesothos NGOs have come-of-age in many ways, and this was shown by the active role they played in mediating in a national crisis. This role has put them forth as possible watch-dogs for democracy. However, it also argues that some of the strength that was shown by NGOs during the crisis can be partly attributed to the quality of the leadership of the movement, as well as the nature of the crisis itself i.e. the issue that was disputed. It therefore concludes by predicting that the future of NGOs as watch-dogs for democracy will be determined by the extent of the involvement of international forces, such as SADC in regional conflicts as well as the capacity of NGOs to sustain themselves structurally.

Labour Migration and Duration of Breastfeeding in Lesotho

Tiisetso Makatjane 
Department of Demography
NUL
and
Nthabiseng Chaka-Toeba
Bureau of Statistics
Maseru

Abstract

This study investigates the differences in the duration of breastfeeding between wives of labour migrants and those of non-labour migrants. The data used in the study are obtained from the Lesotho Demographic and Health Survey carried out between September 1991 and April 1992. The survey was a national representative sample covering both urban and rural households. Duration of breastfeeding between wives of labour migrants and those of wives of non-labour migrants were compared. Wives of labour migrants were found to breastfeed their children longer than their counterparts who are married to men who were not labour migrants at the time of the Lesotho 1991 Demographic and Health Survey by at least one month. This was the case regardless of the characteristics of the women. Although the differences in the duration of breastfeeding are generally marginal, they are statistically significant in most cases. The results of the study suggest that labour migration might not be as effective as it was in the past as a determinant of duration of breastfeeding in Lesotho. Frequency of home visits among labour migrants as well as the decline in the employment of Basotho in the mining industry of South Africa might be reducing the effectiveness of labour migration as a determinant of duration of breastfeeding in Lesotho. Policy implication of this finding is that reduction of the population growth rate as envisaged in the population plan might not be realised. Infant mortality is also likely to increase due to short birth intervals resulting from declining duration of breastfeeding. Efforts need to be made to encourage more couples to use family planning services by bringing services nearer to the people as well as providing counselling for correct choice of method and providing a wide range of methods for couples to choose from. 

The Evolution of a Symbol: Mokorotlo and National Identity in Lesotho


Scott Rosenberg
History Department
Knox College
P.O. Box 82
Galeburg, IL 61401 USA


Abstract

The conical grass hat known as Mokorotlo is considered to be part of the national dress of Lesotho. This paper will trace the physical and cultural evolution of the hat, as part of the emergence of a national identity in Lesotho during the twentieth century. The level of cultural prominence which these hats have obtained illustrates the process by which clothing achieves both cultural and national significance. Contrary to popular belief the Basotho have not always worn these hats. There is no evidence of these hats existing during the nineteenth century. In the early part of the twentieth century chiefs began to wear a hat which was the forerunner of the modern Mokorotlo. At this time men would wear this hat and sing a song known as Mokorotlo on their way to the chiefs court. It is from this connection that the modern hat would become known as Mokorotlo. In the years proceeding the Second World War hat makers began to introduce new designs which drastically altered their position in Basotho society.

Previously these hats had been exclusively the domain of men, but these new designs resulted in a change as women began to manufacture them for sale to Europeans. These new designs which were mass produced for commercial reasons, became increasingly popular with the general public in Lesotho. During the 1950's political figures adorned themselves with these hats in an attempt to link themselves with Lesotho's traditional power structure, the chieftainship. By wearing these hats at rallies the politicians contributed to their growing popularity. These new designs developed cultural significance only after being harnessed as a symbol by political leaders. Another factor which accelerated the emerging importance of these hats was their increasing association with Lesotho's founder, Moshoeshoe. Even though they appeared several decades after his death it was a plethora of myths connecting Moshoeshoe with the Mokorotlo hat which solidified it as a national symbol. The process by which these hats became associated with Moshoeshoe is reflective of the construction of national identity in Lesotho. The hat had become a powerful symbol of the nation, as one Mosotho stated, "everytime we see that hat on the flag or on the automotive licence plates we are reminded of Moshoeshoe."

Community Based Natural Resource Management in 
Zimbabwe: Opportunities and Constraints


Elias Madzudzo
Centre for Applied Social Sciences
University of Zimbabwe


Abstract

Interest in Community Based Natural Resources Management (CBNRM) developed as a result of a general despondency with State management of these resources. There is general agreement on the desirability of CNBRM. Numerous programmes and projects currently implemented as CBNRMs bear evidence to this. However, the applicability of CBNRM across geographical and social boundaries still remains unanalysed. For example is CBNRM autarchy? If it is not, as evidence from programmes and projects shows, what roles do the community state play, with what consequences?
This paper discusses the constraints faced in efforts to establish CBNRM programmes in areas that are held under communal tenure. It is concluded that both the community and the state have complimentary relevance by virtue of the situational niches they occupy. These niches are a consequence of structural constraints emerging from the design of CBNRM programmes, physical and ecological attributes of the resource base, institutional arrangements and the resulting patterns of interaction among stakeholders. 


Female Singlehood and Urban Space in Lesotho


Caroline Wright
Centre for the Study of Women and Gender
University of Warwick
United Kingdom


Abstract

This paper explores the complex interactions between gender roles/relations in Lesotho and the (re)structuring of urban space in its rapidly growing capital city, Maseru. It focuses specifically on the increasing creation of an urban space, social and physical, occupied by single female household-heads, many of them rural-urban migrants, and the significance of this for women's autonomy in a patriarchal society. 
Macro-economic shifts in Lesotho have altered the gender division of paid work, and are influencing patterns of urbanization. For example, the arrival of world market factories reliant on cheap female labour has facilitated the occupation by some women of a physical urban space distributed by the market, rather than according to patriarchal kinship norms, providing them with the cash to rent a room or buy a plot of land on which to build. Single, independent women have thus found a space beyond private patriarchal relations, although the risks of sexual harassment and rape serve as constant reminders of male power.

Female singlehood remains subject to the public patriarchy of the state and capitalism, however, financial and social independence from men often coming only at the price of subjection to industrial capital. The new space single women are inhabiting is also inherently unstable, its form and status subject to multiple and continual contestation. Case-study material illustrates the complex strategies women may adopt as they resiliently create and recreate their space and work towards a transformation of gender relations. 


The Scientist and the Construction of Scientific Knowledge: Aspects of Evidentiality in Negotiating Knowledge Claims in Scientific Research Articles


Puleng Thetela
Department of English 
National University of Lesotho
P.O. Roma 180
Lesotho


Abstract

Contrary to traditional beliefs of scientific writing as a simple presentation of cold hard facts, recent research by sociologists of science and linguists have shown that scientific writing takes place within specific social contexts and is determined by the social systems which shape the scientists themselves and their perceptions of the world. Looking at the scientific research article (SRA) as a genuine representation of the ideology of science, the present paper argues that through the research article, the scientist-writer makes public the results of a scientific investigation to fellow scientists, who can either accept or reject the validity of this new information. Since new research findings are potentially face threatening to other researchers, the scientist-writer presents them through knowledge claims, which are carefully worded for the purpose of mitigating such face threatening acts. Using discussion sections of SRAs, the present paper examines how in the SRA, knowledge claims are negotiated by examining the semantic/pragmatic concept of evidentiality (especially categories of certainty or doubt) in the presentation of these knowledge claims. The study finds evidence of four main markers of evidentiality personal forms, reporting verbs, modification of certainty, and apology markers. Since evidentiality is an interpersonal function of language, its presence in the SRA indicates that far from being a mere presentation of cold hard facts, scientific writing is highly interactive, and it is this interaction that makes it a highly persuasive genre.