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Lerato (Mav) Phonyane (Marang)

Lerato (Mav) Phonyane (Marang)

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Organisation / Affiliation: Queer WorX 
Languages: Sesotho and English 

Advocacy Areas 

  • Economic justice 
  • Sexual and reproductive health and rights 
  • LGBTQI+ rights and inclusion 
  • Feminist leadership and community advocacy 

Lerato (Mav) Phonyane is an emerging feminist advocate and community organiser from Lesotho, currently serving in programme and monitoring and evaluation support at Queer WorX. They are passionate about advancing the rights, wellbeing and economic inclusion of lesbian, bisexual and queer women and other marginalised communities. Through advocacy, dialogue facilitation and community engagement, they work to create safer and more inclusive spaces where people can participate fully and with dignity. 

Background 

Lerato has experience in community advocacy, dialogue facilitation, peer education, research and programme support. Their work focuses on human rights, SRHR, HIV prevention, gender equality and LGBTQI+ inclusion through community based initiatives and stakeholder engagement. They have facilitated dialogues with community members, faith leaders, civil society organisations and policymakers, and have strengthened skills in documentation, evidence informed advocacy and community centred programming. 

Areas of Expertise 

  • Community dialogue facilitation 
  • Advocacy and community mobilisation 
  • Monitoring, evaluation and documentation 
  • SRHR and human rights education 

Current Projects / Work 

Lerato currently supports programme implementation and monitoring at Queer WorX and contributes to community based advocacy and human rights initiatives. They are also developing an advocacy campaign focused on the economic inclusion, visibility and leadership of LBQ women in Lesotho through dialogue, storytelling, movement building and policy engagement. 

Affiliations 

  • Queer WorX 
  • WOSSO Fellowship 
  • Sesotho Media and Development, previous external youth facilitator and National Task Force Member on Police Accountability and Community Engagement 
  • The People’s Matrix Association, previous dialogue facilitator and peer educator 

Social Media / Website 

  • Facebook: El Mav Phonyane