Home 9 News 9 Speech by H.E. The First Lady, Mrs ‘Mammusa ‘Masekoalane Majoro at the Women in Media Awards 3 September 2021

Speech by H.E. The First Lady, Mrs ‘Mammusa ‘Masekoalane Majoro at the Women in Media Awards 3 September 2021

9 Sep, 2021
To our today’s participants of the Women in Media Awards, the award for bravery, determination, andexcellence goes to all of you.

Qalong ea leeto la bophelo tšimolohong, Morena
Molimo o ile a hlokomela ka pele-pele hore monna o
hloka molekane eo batlang ho tšoarisana mosebetsi
oa thomo ea bona lefatšeng le ka koano.
Ka hare ho li-industry tsohle tsa tšebetso, that
partnership e ea hlokahala hore katleho ea
mosebetsi e be teng.

Ka ho khetholoha ka hare ho lefapha lena la bo
qolotsi le bophatlalatsi ba-litaba, batho ba-bo ‘me le
batho ba-bo-ausi, ba amohetse thomo eno ka
mantsoe a reng: “It is well with my soul”.
Empa ka hare ho tikoloho ea SADC, re kenyeletsa
naha ea Lesotho, liphuphutso lisupa liqholotso tse
nyarosang tseo our female counterparts ba
shebaneng le tsona, ka hare ho mosebetsi oa
boqolotsi le bophatlalatsi.
Re kenyeletsa:
● Khatikelo ea litokelo tsa bona.
● Tlhokahalo ea teka-tekano ea mosebetsi le
meputso.
● Ho telleha mahlong a their male
counterparts hobane feela ho thoe ke
“basali”.

Empa, tlasa bolisa le tataiso ea MISA-Lesotho
‘moho le other partners, sebopeho sena se renang
se lokela ho fetoha ka hore melao e entlafatsoe.
Kopo ea ka ho lona bo- ‘me, baroetsana le bo-ausi,
ba-qolotsi le baphatlalatsi ba-litaba, ke hore le
sekebe la lumela hore sebopeho sena sa litaba se
lerobe lipelo.
Mme joalo ka ba-kreste, le tsebe hore le lokela ho
feta ka hare ho sebupi sa mollo joalo ka khauta, e le
tokisetso ea hore le tle le fihle ka nqane le botsoitse
ho tla fetola sebopeho se renang ka hare ho naha
ea Lesotho sa boqolotsi le bophatlalatsi.

Remarks:

Bo ‘me le bo ‘ntate, re lipaki hore lefatše le re
fetohetse. We witness the world becoming
increasingly polarized; and characterized by
repeated denial of facts and truth; and the role of
journalists becoming ever more in danger. This is an
era clenched by the epidemic of falsehood,
appealing to emotion over facts, and the deliberate
deception of the general public for nefarious causes.

This is the post-truth era and personally, this leaves
me longing for a society in which journalists assume their original role of being the watchdogs and the beacons of honesty; objectivism; and neutrality. We see the media landscape in the world and Lesotho in particular, going against the pillars of good journalism with regard to accuracy, fairness,
thoroughness, and transparency. The public is facing a greater need for headstrong journalists who are an antithesis to the age-old term, “everybody has a price”.

We in Lesotho are fortunate to have an organization
like MISA, that is committed to advocating for the
practice of good journalism.
For generations, the journalism industry has been a
male-dominated space. By this I mean, their voices
have always been amplified by the inexplicable
sense of credibility and privilege, that comes with
being a man. This has left women in the eerily
familiar position of having to assume an antagonistic stance, just to be heard.

I would like to ironically quote one Austrian
journalist, Henry Grunwald who once said,
“journalism can never be silent; that is its
greatest virtue and its greatest fault. It must
speak, and speak immediately, while the echoes
of wonder, the claims of triumph and the signs of
horror are still in the air”. To me, this sounds like
the plight of women in general, and in the journalism
industry to be specific. Women in the journalism
industry are more likely to face bigotry,
discrimination, underrepresentation, and lower pay.
Contrary to the fact that they make great
contributions to this discipline.

But, there is HOPE. Why am I saying this? Because
we have distinguished female journalists such as
Christiane Amanpour, Jane Mayer, Nima Elbagir, and Evelyn Cunningham – to name a few; who have
paved the way for women in the journalistic field to
be pillars of hope in the face of turmoil and injustice.
And to the winners and nominees of the Women in
Media Awards, I urge you to remain motivated to tell
Basotho people the truth, and nothing but the truth.
The reality is our media landscape is becoming more divided by the day. Our turbulent political climate has ruptured the relationship between journalists and factualness. Bo-‘m’e to you I say, Basotho need you now more than ever.

The truth is a staple for any society to function well
to serve its people, is a functional and independent
press. And as part of its mandate, governance
continues to play a critical and integral role in8
determining how countries respond to the COVID-19
pandemic. We have all beared witness to instances
of good governance saving millions of lives; and bad
governance that is fraught with corruption and greed, breaking families apart and striking the public with grief. But it does not end there. Governance will continue to play such a role in the construction of what we now know as the “new normal”.But for all sectors of society to benefit from this, we desperately need a free and independent press to equip the masses with facts about policies that may affect them. We need the watchdogs of journalism to expose rapacity and the destructive and insatiable hunger for power. We need you to do your job with allegiance.

Today is a humbling day, and it is an honour for me
to stand here in front of the best female journalists
Lesotho has to offer. Women like you give me
reason to never lose hope that our people will see
the light of truth in your hands.

To our today’s participants of the Women in Media
Awards, the award for bravery, determination, and
excellence goes to all of you. Bo-’mme le Bo-ntate, while August, marked as Women’s Month has passed, let us continue joining hands to celebrate and honour the strength and resilience of our female journalists.

To the organizers of this award ceremony, I’d like to
express my heartfelt gratitude that you considered
me among others to honour this special day with you today. I applaud MISA- Lesotho as well as urging them to maintain their resolve and provide support to this country’s committed journalists by promoting fairness; independence; and media freedom throughout the country.

As I conclude, allow me to congratulate today’s
winners in advance. And to the rest of the
participants, keep up the good work; we appreciate
your commitment to honesty and objectiveness in
keeping Basotho informed.
KEA LEBOHA.
Khotso! Pula! Nala!

About MISA

The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) was founded in 1992. Its work focuses on promoting, and advocating for, the unhindered enjoyment of freedom of expression, access to information and a free, independent, diverse and pluralistic media.

Share this

Related news

Boloetse warns media distractors

Boloetse warns media distractors

By Itumeleng Lekoatsa The Lesotho Chapter of Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA Lesotho) has issued a statement of concern over the recent legal actions instituted against some media houses for alleged defamation. The statement, dated February 28, 2024, is...

Celebrating 100 years of Radio

Celebrating 100 years of Radio

To all media outlets MISA Lesotho issues this statement in commemoration of the World Radio Day 2024, celebrated worldwide today. Globally, radio is being celebrated for the 100 years of its existence - still a trusted medium of information exchange among members of...

These are the ideals for which we are prepared to die

These are the ideals for which we are prepared to die

We, at MISA Lesotho, wish to address a matter of utmost importance that has compelled us to take action in defense of constitutional principles and the rule of law. In light of recent developments concerning the reinstatement of dead parliamentary business, we have...