By Matṧeliso Phulane
Lesotho will on October 11 commemorate International Day of the Girl Child, but there is little cheer for thousands of its girl children.
The main aims of the day are to promote girl’s empowerment and fulfilment of their human rights while also highlighting the challenges that girls all over the world face.
Although Lesotho has made some strides in improving the lives of its girl children, a lot still needs to be done for them to realise their full potential.
Girls and young women still face myriad challenges that hinder their lives – from early marriages to unplanned pregnancies due to lack of access to reproductive health services, vulnerability to HIV/Aids, poverty, child labour, as well as gender-based violence (GBV).
According to the Lesotho Population-based HIV Impact Assessment released last year, HIV prevalence ranged from 3.9 percent for older adolescent girls aged 15 to 19 years and from 2.5 percent for older adolescent boys of the same age.
Girls and young women across the country are also vulnerable to sexual assault. For instance, 38 rape cases were reported in Pela-Tṧoeu area in the Leribe district between January and April this year.
Twenty-five of the survivors were adolescents under 18 years while the remaining 13 women were above this age. Four cases of attempted rape were also recorded during the same period.
Speaking during the commemoration of World Population Day at an event organised by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the ministry of finance and development planning, at Ha Khabo Leribe in July this year, child and gender protection unit officer commanding Leribe police, Thabetha Makara, painted a grim picture of high incidence of violence against girls in the area.
Makara noted that 15 cases of physical child abuse and at least 160 cases of GBV were reported in the area between January and April this year.
In yet another worrying trend, 12 girls and women were abducted and forced into marriage, in contravention of the Penal Code Act No 6 of 2010.
However, some of the cases were resolved through restorative justice after police came in to encourage the perpetrators and their victims to solve their matters amicably without involving the courts.
Concerned by the plight of the girl child, non-governmental organisation, World Vision in 2016 launched a five-year campaign as part of a global initiative aimed at ending violence against children and early marriages.
Lesotho has since continued with the programme.
World Vision advocacy, partnering and external engagement lead, ‘Maseisa Ntlama, says the journey to improve the lives of girl children continues in earnest.
She told theReporter in an interview that her organisation commemorates the International Day of the Girl Child as part of its efforts to raise awareness on children’s rights.
“We look at the root causes of child marriages, which is something that impacts negatively on a girl child than a boy child,” Ntlama noted.
Queen ‘Masenate Mohato Seeiso joins the commemorations at different levels in her capacity as the World Vision champion on child protection.
“Normally we take our outreach programmes to communities with the most challenges facing the girl child. We facilitate public dialogues during the commemorations and invite the Queen to address communities as a way of supporting our awareness campaign and initiatives to ensure that the rights of the girl child are protected, promoted, fulfilled and respected,” Ntlama pointed out.
The dialogues continue after the International Day of the Girl Child to give different stakeholders opportunities to discuss the root causes of challenges that affect girl children as well as their effects.
The World Vision also hosts child-led meetings for girls and boys to discuss issues affecting them on their own with the aim of finding ways to overcome such challenges.
“We also use such platforms to equip girls with life skills that will help them to handle challenges that can affect their wellbeing in a positive and healthy manner,” Ntlama said.
World Vision will this year celebrate International Day of the Girl Child at Rothe, Maseru district. The area was chosen as venue because of its history of conflicts in the community, including the murder of children.
Although such crimes have decreased slightly over the years, they have left a painful trail of orphans.
“We continue to raise awareness for the Rothe community to discourage villagers from engaging in violence to resolve disputes, as this includes the vulnerable members of society, such as girls and people living with disability who cannot defend themselves,” Ntlama indicated.
The event, which will be led by the Queen, will also be attended by community leaders such as chiefs and faith leaders.
“We will have a special prayer session led by the Christian Council of Lesotho and priests from that area. We’re all concerned by the high prevalence of violence against girls and women, they are being abused in many different ways including sexually, physically or emotionally. Some have even been killed.
“As a Christian country, we feel that it is a high time that we pray to seek protection of girl children and women. We pray for the Lord to purify the hearts of abusers so that they stop with this evil practice,” Ntlama said.
She added that the Covid-19 pandemic saw some girls getting married early after their parents lost their jobs and were unable to cater for their basic and educational needs.
“As a result, there is a high rate of high school drop outs. Some girls end up having premarital pregnancies or indulging in child labour as they seek ways of surviving. Others become victims of human trafficking.”
To address such issues, World Vision facilitates the establishment of committees on child protection and abuse so that young people have a clear understanding of their rights. They are also informed of laws and policies that protect them against all forms of abuse.
An evaluation by the organisation last year revealed that there was improved understanding of child protection issues in the country, Ntlama noted.
The United Nation Children’s Fund (UNICEF) states that in almost every country, patriarchy and power dynamics afford boys comparative advantages compared to girls in most domains.
The organisation says social and gender norms constrict adolescent girls’ access to public spaces, socialise girls to be docile and obedient ‘good girls’, and reinforce perceptions that girls’ appearances; potential and actual role in care work, is valued more than their studies in school, leadership in business, or voice in policymaking.
This divergent path is fraught with multifaceted challenges and interconnected violations of girls’ rights. As a result of these patriarchal dynamics playing out at every level – from formal policymaking institutions to community norms, family behaviors and individual attitudes, there are stark ways in which girls are left behind across multiple dimensions.
But it is not all gloom and doom.
The government is not resting on its laurels. In August this year, it signed a compact with UNFPA to co-finance the procurement of reproductive health commodities and strengthen the delivery of sexual and reproductive health services to the value of USD $754,000 (about M13,300,560).
In addition to the compact, UNFPA will provide a further $596,000 in matching funds to add to the $754,000.00. This brings the total investment to USD1,345,500 (approximately M25,322,310).
Lesotho has one of the highest rates of teenage pregnancies globally, with an adolescent birth rate of 206/1000 adolescent girls and young women aged 15 – 19 years of age. It has the second highest maternal mortality rate in the Southern African Development Community region at 618/100,000 deliveries, the majority of which are adolescent girls and young women.
The unmet need for family planning in Lesotho is high at 18 percent compared to 11 percent internationally, while the contraceptive prevalence rate stands at 60 percent. Under the compact, the government, through the ministry of health, will invest USD US$313,000 (M5,521,320), while UNFPA through its Supplies Partnership will invest $441,000 (M7,779,240).
The compact will ensure that adolescent girls and young women, mostly those living in rural areas, are able to exercise their rights to decide freely whether and when they wish to have children and to be able to deliver safely.
Through this investment UNFPA will support the ministry to procure implants, injectables, including the self-injection depo (Sayanna Press) and oral pills that will diversify the range of contraceptive choices available to women in Lesotho.
In addition to the procurement of contraceptives, UNFPA will strengthen Lesotho’s health system through increasing the capacity of the ministry of health to quantify the annual need for reproductive health commodities, train health care workers to provide quality and respectful services for all, and strengthen distribution networks to ensure that those most in need are reached.
The investment is expected to boost the implementation of the National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP), in ensuring universal access to sexual and reproductive health for all and reducing maternal mortality in Lesotho.
