Women, class and politics in colonial Lesotho, 1930-1965

This study builds upon recent class and gender-sensitive research in Africa by focusing attention on the history of women in the economy, society, Christian churches and politics of Lesotho throughout the colonial era. It questions prevailing assumptions about women and gender in the historiography. These include the dualistic portrayals of conservative women and radical men, patriarchal chiefs and enlightened Europeans, female homemakers and male proletarians, reactionary Catholics and modern Protestants, and progressive Congress Party and regressive National Party. It also addresses the broader question of how the subordination and exploitation of Basotho women changed over time. That is, how was Basotho women's pre-capitalist subordination to men perceived and contested over by African and European males as new classes formed? How did Basotho women themselves perceive class transformation and take advantage of new opportunities? How did gender ideology and gender struggle come to assume strong political implications at the eve of independence?...