Pandemic woes for women of Lesotho garment industry

When the coronavirus pandemic hit the world two years ago, the global fashion industry collapsed. In Lesotho, a mountainous speck of a country nestled entirely inside South Africa, the pain was especially widespread.

More than 11,000 of Lesotho's 50,000 garment workers have lost their jobs since March 2020. Those job losses were catastrophic in a country of 2.1 million people where the GDP per capita hovers at around $861. By the following year, workers were desperate.

In May 2021, local unions organized a strike to raise the garment sector's monthly minimum wage about $140. The demonstrations turned violent, with security forces shooting dead a garment worker.

Factories eventually agreed to raise wages by 14% but complained the results would devastate their businesses and warned that factory closures would follow. Experts are uncertain about the garment industry's future - both in Lesotho and globally.