The global legal and economic landscape is steadily evolving towards the inclusion and empowerment of women, with reform in family law systems emerging as a critical enabler of gender equality. In this context, the World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law (WBL) initiative has played a transformative role by documenting the legal and regulatory barriers that restrict women’s full economic participation worldwide. One of the central pillars of this project is the Family Law indicator, which evaluates the extent to which laws support women’s autonomy and equality within the family structure.
In 2026, Zurayda Mayet was recognised for her contribution to this global project by serving as a national expert for the Family Law questionnaire for Lesotho. Her input was formally acknowledged through a Certificate of Appreciation issued by Women, Business and the Law for her contribution to the 2026 edition. This recognition is not merely ceremonial, it underscores the essential role that legal professionals play in shaping comparative legal research and evidence-based advocacy.
The WBL 2024 report estimated that advancing legal gender equality could increase global GDP by approximately 20%. The implications for legal reform in Lesotho, particularly in the domain of family law, are significant. Issues such as marital property regimes, rights within marriage, guardianship, inheritance, and divorce remain deeply intertwined with gender disparities in access to finance, land, and broader economic opportunities. As a result, legal input from practitioners grounded in both domestic law and comparative frameworks is indispensable to the development of policy tools aimed at bridging these gaps.
By contributing to the WBL’s research methodology, Zurayda Mayet joins a global network of legal professionals, academics, and policymakers committed to aligning national legal systems with international best practices. The Family Law indicator, in particular, seeks to determine whether women and men have equal rights in areas such as marriage age, marital consent, head-of-household status, and rights after divorce, key determinants of women’s economic independence and legal agency.
Zurayda Mayet’s participation in this initiative not only lends visibility to Lesotho’s evolving legal framework but also positions her at the forefront of gender justice advocacy in Southern Africa. Her expertise contributes to a growing body of comparative data that is used by development institutions, government reform committees, and civil society organisations to advocate for more inclusive legal systems. Her engagement affirms the principle that legal reform must be informed by both local context and global benchmarks.
Moreover, the acknowledgement of legal experts such as Zurayda Mayet reflects a broader trend towards legal transparency and participatory lawmaking. Involving practicing attorneys and scholars in diagnostic tools such as the WBL enhances the legitimacy and applicability of international policy recommendations and strengthens the feedback loop between global initiatives and national reform agendas.
As Lesotho continues to grapple with legal pluralism and the co-existence of statutory, customary, and religious legal systems, the work of professionals like Zurayda Mayet becomes ever more vital. Bridging these legal domains in a way that promotes equality, dignity, and economic inclusion requires not only technical expertise but also sustained commitment to law reform.
The 2026 Women, Business and the Law project stands as a global testament to the idea that the law can be both a barrier and a catalyst. Recognition of expert contributors serves not only to honour individual achievement but to affirm the collective project of building more just and equitable legal systems worldwide.
