LesLesotho sits like pearl in a shell, surrounded by the land mass of South Africa. But this tiny kingdom of 1.8 million people boasts a high level of gender equality and women's literacy rates. According to the World Economic Forum, the country is ranked first in Africa for bridging the gender gap and eighth in the world. Unlike many African countries, Lesotho has more girls educated than boys.

What is the key to realizing gender equality? What are the challenges still facing women in Lesotho? How can China-Africa cooperation better empower them? Recently, H.E. Lebohang Ntsinyi, Ambassador of Lesotho in China, shared her thoughts on these issues with ChinAfrica reporter Liu Jian.

ChinAfrica: What is the key to realizing gender equality in Lesotho?

Lebohang Ntsinyi: From the historical background, Lesotho is completely surrounded by South Africa, and for a long time, the men from Lesotho usually migrated to South Africa to work in the mines, while the sisters and wives stayed at home. In addition, when the boys became a bit older, they went to work in the mines or went out to look after the animals, while the sisters went to school.

Because of this cultural background, Lesotho has more girls educated than boys, whereas in many African countries, girls are disadvantaged in terms of education and many other things. It is opposite in Lesotho. But that gap is now closing, because of the changing of times. That's also why now Lesotho has more than a 90 percent literacy rate. There is no gender difference between men and women, because they are equally educated. When it comes to jobs, Lesotho never makes any distinction between men and women, and there's no discrimination. It's equal pay for equal jobs. That's the tradition in Lesotho.

What are the pro-women policies in Lesotho?

We have enacted quite a lot of legislations which protect women. For example, in the past, the man could sign for a loan without the involvement of a woman. But now we enacted a legislation which mandates that it should be cosigned by both the husband and the wife. So a man can no longer get a loan or buy a house without the wife's consent. Besides, traditionally, in some countries, when the husband dies, the relatives take everything, while the wife is dispossessed of everything. Fortunately, we don't have a problem like that. Our law protects the widow's right when the husband is deceased. Also, we ratified many international laws which guarantee women's safety, and then we domesticated those legislations to make them appropriate for the situation in Lesotho.

What we still have to do is that presently only women get maternity leave [in Lesotho], but we are hoping that one day men and women can alternate. When the woman goes back to work, then the man should be given maternity leave simultaneously, so that they can both raise the child. Raising a baby is very taxing, and especially the small baby can be very demanding. After a woman gives birth to a baby, she still has to take some rest. Sometimes the husband can sleep right through [the night]. So I think they should share the burden equally. We hope to find a way of introducing that as law. Maybe women in parliament can push for that.

How can China-Africa cooperation projects better empower Lesotho women?

We have a lot of Chinese textile manufacturing companies in Lesotho. We have 40,000 people employed in this sector and the bulk are women who leave their children and families in the villages and come to the capital to work in the factories. We hope that our cooperation can help with the decentralization, help some companies or other type of industries develop in the villages, so that there is less urban migration. If women can find jobs in their own rural areas, one day they will stay there. Socially, it will benefit the children.

I think you have something similar here in China where you call them "left-behind children." China has experienced the problems of children growing without parents, and we are experiencing the same problem. The Chinese Government has addressed this problem by having jobs in the rural areas, either in the agricultural or other sectors. Equally, we can find a common area where the Chinese cooperation can assist the Lesotho Government to have industries decentralized from the capital to the rural areas.

Which areas do you suggest Chinese companies invest in to empower locals?

Lesotho is a very mountainous country. And because of the mountains and the rivers, it's difficult to travel within the country. But recently, with the help of China Geo-Engineering Corp., the Lesotho Government has invested a lot of money in improving the roads to make access easy. Another step is to make energy available in those areas, especially clean energy. We hope Chinese companies can invest more in clean energy programs, like solar and hydro, as we have a lot of water and at least more than 300 days of sunshine a year. With energy and road access, it will be easy to develop other type of industries, including agro-industry, because if there is no road and electricity, it's difficult to bring your produce to the market, whether for home consumption or for export.

What role do Lesotho women play in developing the country?

In most cases in rural areas, women are left at home to be responsible for the families - the children and the elderly parents. So they always have a heavy burden in making sure that the home runs properly, like the children are fed, are taken care of and go to school, while the elderly parents have medical attention. They are hardworking and resourceful in feeding the family. In addition, Lesotho has a prevalence of HIV/AIDS. Most of the caregivers in the rural areas who volunteer their time are women. They care for the sick people voluntarily.

What are the challenges facing women in Lesotho?

The challenges facing women back home are still many. I have to admit that when it comes to politics, women are left behind. They are scared of going out and standing for a political position, because sometimes they don't want to take that risk and be engaged in the rough and tumble of politics. They would rather stand back and take a back seat. In addition, women opt to stay at home and raise children, and that has an impact on their career path. That's why I wish we could find a way where the responsibility [of raising a child] can be shared.

In your opinion, what can Chinese and Lesotho women learn from each other?

What I admire here is the Chinese women teach the children to be focused and to be hard workers. We have to instill that sense of duty, and the sense of the love of the country in our children. We need to learn that from the Chinese. I noticed that in China you can find women in middle management, but as you go up in high positions, there are very few women. You will find a room full of men and only one or two women. I also noticed the same phenomenon in Germany while I was serving there. But in Lesotho, it's equal all the way up to the top.

What's your advice for Lesotho women in China?

There are less than 100 Lesotho students studying in China. I wish they could learn the way the Chinese learn and stay focused. I suggest they should make business contacts and also seek business opportunities they can take back home.

What's the outlook for China-Lesotho relations in 2017?

I hope we can take the relation to a higher level where we can have more business and investment contacts. The Chinese investment will be very important for Lesotho, and we are looking forward to the implementation of China-Africa cooperation plans put forward at [the Johannesburg Summit of] the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation as well. We also need to improve the outgoing tourism - Chinese to visit Lesotho as tourists. Chinese visitors can have the add-on packages, which means those who are going to South Africa can add on Lesotho as a tourist destination. Our tourism is mainly activity tourism like horse riding. Tourists can also enjoy our mountain and river scenery.