Mannete Ramaili is a diplomat and politician from the
Kingdom of Lesotho
Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked as an enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the highest mountains in Southern Africa. It has an area of over and has a populatio ...
.
Early life
Ramaili was born in Lesotho and has been outspoken about women's rights since 1987. Earlier in her career she was involved with the International Planned Parenthood Federation.
Political career
In 2005 Ramaili was appointed Ambassador of the Kingdom of Lesotho to the Republic of Ireland. Ramaili was Lesotho's ambassador until 2009. During her time in Ireland she helped to establish the Irish NGO 'Action Lesotho' which works in
Maputsoe
Maputsoe is a town located in the northern district of Leribe in Lesotho; it shares a border-post with Ficksburg in the eastern Free State. With a population of 55,541.
The Irish NGO 'Action Lesotho', which works in Maputsoe, was set up by po ...
. During her time she visited areas across Ireland with His Excellency Mr Paddy Fay to raise awareness on issues that affect the people of Lesotho. Issues such as HIV and
female genital mutilation
Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision, is the ritual cutting or removal of some or all of the external female genitalia. The practice is found ...
.
In 2010, Ramaili was appointed Minister for Tourism, Culture and Environment, following the dismissal from government of Lebohang Ntsinyi by Prime Minister
Pakalitha Mosisili
Bethuel Pakalitha Mosisili (born 14 March 1945) is a former Mosotho politician who was the fourth prime minister of Lesotho from May 1998 to June 2012 and again from March 2015 to June 2017.Mamphono Khaketla,
Maphoka Motoboli Maphoka Motoboli is a politician in Lesotho.
Motoboli is a member of the National Assembly of Lesotho, the lower house of the Parliament of Lesotho.
Motoboli was the Deputy Minister of Education.
See also
*Politics of Lesotho
Politics of Lesoth ...
,
Mathabiso Lepono
Mathabiso Angeline Lepono (born 1942) is a Mosotho politician. She was a longtime minister of gender, youth, and sports under Lesotho's prime minister Pakalitha Mosisili.
Early life and education
Mathabiso Angeline Lepono was born in 1942 in Thi ...
,
Mphu Keneileo Ramatlapeng
Mphu Ramatlapeng (born c. 1953) is a Lesotho politician, businesswoman and non-profit executive.
Early life
Mphu Ramatlapeng was born circa 1953 in Lesotho. She earned a medical degree from the Kharkiv National Medical University, followed by a ...
Pontso Suzan Matumelo Sekatle
Pontso S. M. Sekatle (born 26 May 1957) is a politician and academic in Lesotho. Sekatle lectured at the National University of Lesotho from 1984 to 2001. In June 2001, she was appointed to the Senate of Lesotho, and on July 6, 2001 she became Mi ...
. She has led measures to cut alcohol consumption in Lesotho.
In partnership with the Chinese government, Ramaili was instrumental is setting up a ceramics training scheme in Lesotho in 2012. The same year she spoke out in Lesotho in support of fairer and more transparent election coverage in the media.
In 2012 she spoke at an event - 'Women in Development' - organised by the United Nations. Here, Ramaili spoke about the need for greater legislation against domestic violence, but also pointed out the Lesotho was ranked ninth out 135 countries on the World Economic Forum Gender Gap Index - ahead of the UK, USA and France.
Ramaili is one of Lesotho's leading female entrepreneurs and is vocal about the importance of female economic empowerment for Lestho. She is a board member of Standard Lesotho Bank.