SECTOR 2 2.8 All media fairly represent the voices of society and its minorities in its ethnic, linguistic and religious diversity Lesotho is a comprised of 12 nations (tribes) of the Sotho ethnic group, which together make up almost 100% of the country’s population. As such, the country is a very homogenous nation, not only in terms of the ethnic makeup of its population, but also regarding religion, language and culture. In this regard, the media does represent almost all voices of society, although some minority groups (such as the amaXhosa) are largely ignored and do not receive a great deal of media coverage. The religious diversity of Lesotho is made up of Christianity (95%), traditionally based ancestor worship (3.5%) and a small representation of Islam (less than 0.2%). In this regard, it goes without saying that media content is predominantly Christian. ’If the country is predominantly Christian, it is fair to have more media content that is Christian.’ In Lesotho, lesbianism is not criminalised, but same sex relationships between men is viewed as sodomy, which is illegal as a common law offence. It is in this vein that sexual diversity issues are still taboo in Lesotho. The situation is slowly changing, however, with people becoming increasingly tolerant. This has to do with advocacy work by organisations such as Matrix (an NGO working to advocate for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex individuals (LGBTQI) in the country). Matrix organised Lesotho’s first ever gay pride march in 2013. ‘There was resistance and hostility, but now there is growing acceptance of LGBTQI issues. Lesotho has made strides.’ Scores: Individual scores: 1 Country does not meet indicator 2 Country meets only a few aspects of indicator 3 Country meets some aspects of indicator 4 Country meets most aspects of indicator 5 Country meets all aspects of the indicator Average score: 29 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER LESOTHO 2018 ✓✓ ✓✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ 3.4 (2015: 2.0, 2012: 2.0, 2010: 2.2, 2008: n/a, 2006: n/a)