Culture
Traditional musical instruments include lekolulo, a kind of flute used by herding boys, setolo-tolo, played by men using their mouth, and the woman's stringed thomo.
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The national anthem of Lesotho is "Lesotho Fatše La Bo-ntata Rona", which literally translates into "Lesotho, Land of Our Fore-Fathers".
The traditional style of housing in Lesotho is called a mokhoro. Many older houses, especially in smaller towns and villages, are of this type, with walls usually constructed from large stones cemented together. Baked mud bricks and especially concrete blocks are also used nowadays, with thatched roofs still common, although often replaced by corrugated roofing sheets.
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Traditional attire revolves around the Basotho blanket, a thick covering made primarily of wool. The blankets are ubiquitous throughout the country during all seasons, and worn differently for men and women.
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The Morija Arts & Cultural Festival is a prominent Sesotho arts and music festival. It is held annually in the historical town of Morija, where the first missionaries arrived in 1833.
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Cuisine
The cuisine of Lesotho includes African traditions and British influences.
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Social issues
Significant levels of child labour exist in Lesotho, and the country is in the process of formulating an Action Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (APEC). According to the UN, Lesotho has the highest rape rate of any country (91.6 per 100,000 people rate for reported rape in 2008).
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Treatment of people with disabilities is another major issue facing the country. According to the Lesotho Census 2006 around 4% of the population is thought to have some sort of disability. However, there are concerns regarding the reliability of the methodologies used and the real figure is thought to be closer to the global estimate of 15%. According to a survey conducted by the Lesotho National Federation of Organisations of the Disabled in conjunction with SINTEF, people with disability in Lesotho face significant social and cultural barriers which prevent them from accessing education, healthcare, and employment on an equal basis with others.
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On 2 December 2008 Lesotho became the 42nd country in the world to sign the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. However, to date the treaty has yet to be domesticated. Despite lobbying efforts from disabled persons organisations, there have been no moves to develop disability specific legislation to protect the rights of people with disabilities. Although the National Disability and Rehabilitation Policy was developed in 2011, as yet there has been no budget allocated for its implementation.
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The Married Persons Equality Act 2006 gives equal rights to wives in regard to their husbands, abolishing the husband's marital power.
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The World Economic Forum's 2013 Gender Gap Report ranks Lesotho 15th in the world for gender parity, 8 places higher than the USA.
