Thakane Sello
With over seven years of progressive leadership in gender justice programming, donor relations, and organizational management across diverse sectors, Advocate Thakane Sello is well-placed to lead Gender Links Lesotho in advancing transformative gender equality initiatives.
She is often to be found liaising with key donors such as the European Union, UNICEF, Bread for the World, and ViiV Healthcare, as well as government ministries, civil society organizations, and LGBTIQ networks. She also serves as a pivotal advocate for gender-responsive monitoring and evaluation frameworks, strategic litigation, and community-led interventions to combat gender-based violence and promote social inclusion.
A Lesotho citizen, Thakane has worked extensively in Lesotho and Southern Africa before joining Gender Links in early 2026 as Country Director. Previously at Sesotho Media & Development, she served as Project Manager and Acting Executive Director from 2021 to 2025, where she provided strategic oversight of operations, staff management, and stakeholder relations; secured multi-year grants from major international donors; and managed complex EU-funded projects on security sector accountability with full compliance. She spearheaded nationwide initiatives including Lesotho’s Human Rights Day celebrations, multi-stakeholder dialogues on legal reforms involving Parliament, the Ministry of Law, and the Lesotho Mounted Police Service, as well as GBV advocacy across rural communities.
Thakane founded the Global 4Her Lesotho campaign to raise awareness on gender-based violence, mobilized the Total Shutdown movement that presented demands to Parliament, and designed comprehensive safeguarding training for senior police officers on LGBTIQ rights, integrating inclusive approaches across programs to foster safe spaces and rights-based advocacy for marginalized communities.