Lesotho Princesses Denied Right to be Chiefs

Ms. Senate Gabasheane Masupha of the Kingdom of Lesotho Embassy in Rome, Italy. Her case to inherit the chieftancy was denied by the Constitutional Court on May 16, 2013., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.

Lesotho denies women right to be chiefs

May 17, 2013 | Ernest Mabuza
Business Day Live, South Africa

Mountain kingdom’s Constitutional Court upholds section of Chieftainship Act that denies daughters the right to succeed to chieftainship

THE Johannesburg-based Southern Africa Litigation Centre branded Thursday a dark day for women in Lesotho after the mountain kingdom’s Constitutional Court upheld a section of the Chieftainship Act that denied daughters the right to succeed to chieftainship.

This is in sharp contrast to South Africa’s 2008 Constitutional Court ruling that recognised the right of a 66-year-old woman to become chief of her Limpopo tribe. The court upheld the appeal by Tinyiko Nwamitwa-Shilubana, whose chieftainship of the Valoyi tribe, near Tzaneen, was taken away in 1968 because of her gender.

The Lesotho Constitutional Court ruling is seen as a serious blow against women’s rights and gender equality.

"This is a dark day for women in Lesotho. The Constitutional Court has basically re-affirmed the view that women are second-class citizens in Lesotho," centre deputy director Priti Patel said.

She said the decision went against the trend of African courts upholding the rights of women.

The centre was admitted as a friend of the court in the Lesotho case in which Senate Gabasheane Masupha, the firstborn child of a chief, argued that denying her the right to hold the chieftainship because of her sex violated her constitutional rights to equality and freedom from discrimination. Upon her father’s death, Ms Masupha’s mother was appointed caretaker of the chieftainship.

Following her mother’s death, the chieftainship was contested by Ms Masupha’s uncle and half-brother. Ms Masupha intervened, seeking to takeover the chieftainship as she was the firstborn child. However, she was denied the right because she was a woman.

Although the court held that the customary law was protected by the constitution of Lesotho, it reasoned that a mere differentiation did not mean that there was discrimination and did not raise a constitutional issue.

It said there were cases which stated that treating men and women differently did not result in illegal discrimination.

The centre had argued that section 10 of the Chieftainship Act discriminated against firstborn daughters and favoured firstborn sons. The centre had argued that this discrimination was based on sex because it favoured succession according to the male line.

"Although firstborn daughters are also related to chiefs by blood, there is an absolute bar against them succeeding to chieftainship. They are not even permitted to succeed on the limited basis provided for in section 10(4) of the act," the centre had said in heads of argument filed last year.

In Botswana, the high court recently struck down a customary law which denied women the right to inherit.


Lesotho princesses can't be chiefs

2013-05-16 22:02

Maseru - Lesotho's top court on Thursday upheld a law that bars princesses from succeeding their fathers as traditional chiefs, a decision activists say dealt a "serious blow" to women's rights and gender equality.

Consitutional court judge Ts'eliso Monaphathi ruled the current law was not discriminatory, as it allowed for the wives of a chief to become his successor.

"Only a male first born of the chief may take up the chieftainship failing which if the chief has no other son the wife of the chief may take over the chieftainship," said Monaphathi.

"This shows that women are not discriminated against but have to be in a certain position to take over the vacant position."

The landmark case was brought by Senate Masupha, the first-born child of a chief who died and was replaced by her mother, who has also since died.

"I do not feel that the princess can claim that any of her rights have been infringed," said the judge in his ruling.

Masupha said she was not entirely shocked by the ruling but vowed to appeal.

"I am very disappointed but a little bit of me expected this result," Masupha told AFP.

In Lesotho the role of a chief is mainly ceremonial, but they are also involved in the running of local government.

Dark day

Rights activists decried the court's decision as a step backward for the tiny mountainous kingdom.

"This is a dark day for women in Lesotho," said Priti Patel deputy director of the Johannesburg based Southern Africa Litigation Centre.

The ruling "has basically re-affirmed the view that women are second-class citizens in Lesotho," added Patel

The decision goes against a trend in other parts of the Africa, where a series of court decisions have removed discriminatory laws.

South Africa's Constitutional Court has struck down laws which deny women the right to succeed to chieftainship.

Recently the Botswana High Court also struck down a customary law which precluded women from inheritance.

Courts in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and Tanzania have also severed laws which segregate women in similar issues, according to SALC.

- AFP


Lesotho chiefs' case: Princess loses case

A lawsuit arguing that daughters should be allowed to succeed their fathers as chiefs in Lesotho has been rejected by the Constitutional Court.

The judge said the current law did not discriminate against women, as chief's widows could inherit the title.

South African lawyer Priti Patel, who was involved in the case, said the ruling was "a dark day for women in Lesotho".

Lesotho was recently ranked highly for its treatment of women.

It came eighth in the world - higher than the US and UK - for its progress in bridging the gender gap between the sexes by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in 2011.

This was partly because a high proportion of Lesotho's women go to school and work.

The lawsuit was brought by Senate Masupha, who was not allowed to become a chief when her father died. Instead, her mother took the title.

"This shows that women are not discriminated against but have to be in a certain position to take over the vacant position," said judge Ts'eliso Monaphathi, in remarks quoted by the AFP news agency.

"I do not feel that the princess can claim that any of her rights have been infringed."

In a statement Ms Patel, from the Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC), said: "The Constitutional Court has basically reaffirmed the view that women are second-class citizens in Lesotho."

She said the decision was a "significant step backwards" after the progress of recent years.

The SALC helped Ms Masupha bring the case.