Lineo Matlakala

Founder and Director, Barali Foundation

LESOTHO

Lineo Matlakala is the founder of the Barali Foundation, an organization that centers the dual pillars of advocacy and education to promote sexual and reproductive health and eliminate gender-based violence and human trafficking. Partnering with government ministries, local leaders, schools, churches and international organizations across Lesotho, Lineo holds art-focused workshops on reproductive health and works with girls and women to develop advocacy and educational campaigns to spread awareness about these issues.

In addition to her work with the Barali Foundation, Lineo is a director at the Agritech Institute of Lesotho where she teaches resilient farming and rural development. In this role, she focuses on educating women and girls about food security and offering opportunities for them to develop farmland to create self-sufficient livelihoods.

Lineo is a graduate of President Obama’s Young African Leadership Initiative and was a recipient of the Mandela Washington Fellowship. She also participated in the Women, Peace and Security Fellowship with Columbia University’s Advanced Consortium on Cooperation, Conflict and Complexity at the Earth Institute. She holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the National University of Lesotho.