From November 15 to 18, 2010 Lesotho Minister Mathabiso Lepono, Ministry of Gender and Youth, Sports and Recreation invited Alice Cardel, IofC International Training Director to pilot test a programme: 'Women in Leadership' especially for Lesotho. This took place at Victoria Hotel in Maseru. It is specifically designed for women Members of Parliament and those who are on the 20 District Councils of Lesotho. The aim of the training is to increase women's leadership competencies and capabilities.

In a ground breaking move, on October 31, 2000, the UN called for the adoption of women’s perspectives on important world issues. The UN Security Council passed Resolution 1325 with unanimous approval, thereby signalling that women be involved in activities which had traditionally been dominated by men. This resolution emphasized the involvement of women in peace negotiations, post-conflict reconstruction, conflict prevention and resolution, and the maintenance of international peace and security.

The IofC workshop ‘Women in Leadership’ model was developed to enable women to fulfil the vision of UN Resolution 1325. The UN’s call to women for their leadership in the national and international arena requires preparation and training. This training model for Lesotho parliamentarians demonstrates to women that they can fulfil important leadership roles without jeopardizing traditional roles. Women will need to adopt new leadership skills if they are to fulfil the responsibilities which UN Resolution 1325 envisions for them. The new skills will also enhance their traditional roles in educating the children and guarding the community.

At the opening of the workshop Minister Lepono announced that the workshop is initiated at an important time for Lesotho. The country signals to the rest of the African continent its commitment to advancing gender equality and African Women’s empowerment following the October 15 launching of the African Women’s Decade (2010-20210). She said, “The Decade calls for more concerted efforts to accelerate the implementation of agreed policy frameworks that aim to improve the situation and condition of women in Africa as articulated in various declarations, protocols and conventions on gender equality and women’s empowerment as adopted by the African Union.”

Minister Lepono attended one day session of the training. Participants included three senators, fourteen members of parliament from different political parties, among them three traditional chiefs; four staff members of the Ministry of Gender, providing administrative and translation assistance and a UN personnel responsible for advising UNFPA on gender issues.

The Hon Minister of Tourism, Environment and Culture, Mannete Ramaili gave a speech at the closing ceremony. Before speaking, she attended a presentation of one group of participants on the application of a leadership module they learned which impressed her. She then paid tribute to several members of parliament around the table who were participating in the workshop. Her own Tribal Chief was one of them. She said that they were her inspirations and mentors. They encouraged her to reach her present position.

Women in Leadership' is an interactive leadership development programme focussing on the special role of women in the leadership of a country like Lesotho and offers them an opportunity to learn from case studies, problem solving exercises and personal sharing among others. They also role played to get perspectives and insights of women in similar positions. Local culture has given women their traditional leadership roles; gaining new skills will enable them to give creative and inspired leadership to benefit not only their own country, but also the world.

Minister Ramaili said, “We hope this workshop will build on strides made for empowerment of women and I believe Honourable Members you will contribute to good governance and development in Lesotho and the rest of Africa.”

An immediate application of the workshop was when during one session, members of the opposition decided to support the women in the ruling party by deciding to attend a march organized by them. They saw that there are times when it is important to support one another irrespective of one's political party.

Some comments from the written evaluation:

“I want to mentor fellow members to speak positively about other women.”

“The Bridge Model Way (BMW) has been the session which helped me most because this has been an eye-opener to me. It has brought new thinking on how to go about my work as an MP to help solve conflict in my constituency and to assist my constituency when making project proposals.”

“I have been inspired to appreciate how I can use my long career in politics to mentor and develop young women to take positions as leaders.”

“The modules we had were so good that I wish the rest of Africa could benefit from them.”

“I would like the same training be held for Minister (women) and that institutional trainings be offered to my organization to motivate staff and help them step up the ladder.”

A Member of Parliament, MP Makara, phoned Alice Cardel in Geneva to say how grateful she is for the new skills she learned. She said, “My constituency feels the difference. We are working together more than before. The workshop has paid off.”

On a personal note, the Cape Town Trainers' Hub was launched earlier this year and visiting Lesotho was a valuable opportunity for me as a hub trainer. It gave me training on how to work with government leaders especially in Africa. In Cape Town and in Maseru, we had the opportunity to offer IofC professional hands-on training on leadership, culture, and conflict understanding to governments, NGOs and businesses.  Using the Bridge Model Way (BMW) is an excellent tool in leadership building. I feel privileged being Alice Cardel's training assistant in Lesotho. On our return to Cape Town, Alice was one of the panel of speakers at the Inaugural Leadership Forum 2010. Several participants in this event asked to meet her and discuss further how to implement the ideas she expressed. Some sent e-mails expressing appreciation and a former SA diplomat in Washington DC decided to attend the final day of training in Cape Town. To me this is among the confirmations that the CT Training Hub will continue to grow.

Vilma Maritz
Chair, IofC South Africa