Lipuo Motene’s Journey of Resilience Towards Her PhD in Linguistics

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Dr Lipuo Motene graduating with a PhD in Linguistics is not only an academic milestone but a testament to resilience, purpose, and the power of voice.

An academic, lecturer, poet, digital creator, and mother of two, she describes herself as “a product of struggle and grace” shaped by adversity but sustained by firm family support.

Motene’s journey into Linguistics was deeply personal. “My name, Lipuo, means ‘languages’,” she says, reflecting on a path that led her to explore the intersections of language, identity, power, and gender. Her doctoral research examines how Basotho musicians construct sexualities in Famo lyrics.

Famo, a popular cultural music genre rooted in Lesotho’s history, was traditionally male-dominated. It has since evolved into a contested space where women are increasingly asserting their voices.

Her findings reveal complex gender dynamics. While male lyrics often foreground dominance and violence through labelling, female artists employ active language to assert agency and challenge norms.

“Women’s voices are no longer restrained; they are confrontational, expressive, and deeply reflective of broader social tensions,” she explains. Through this work, Motene positions Famo as an ideological space where cultural narratives are not only produced but also reshaped.

Beyond her research, her PhD journey is marked by extraordinary determination. In 2023, she travelled from Lesotho to Johannesburg to present at a conference, just weeks before giving birth. “I packed not only my clothes, but my baby’s too,” she recalls. Against medical caution and personal fear, she delivered her presentation before returning home to Lesotho, where her daughter, affectionately known as ‘little Alasa’, was born safely days later.

Balancing motherhood and academia was no easy feat. “It was challenging,” she admits, “but it taught me the power of resilience. What seems impossible can be overcome.” Completing her PhD while raising a newborn is a powerful reflection of that belief. “I knew that having a baby while writing a thesis was a battle I had to win since I did not have any other choice but to push against the odds. I just wanted to claim my space in knowledge production,” she said.

Motene credits her support system - her family and husband, including her academic cohort and supervisor, Professor Heike Tappe - for sustaining her through the demands of doctoral study. She also draws strength from her creative work, using poetry as a parallel medium to express ideas explored in her research. “I treat my thesis as a piece of art,” she says. “I have poured my soul into it.” 

Tappe said, despite her many roles and giving birth to ‘little Alasa’ in the middle of her PhD studies, Motene delivered several conference presentations and finalised her PhD within three years.

“Her examination results are outstanding. I could not be prouder of my student.” 

For her family and community in Lesotho, this achievement symbolises hope and shared sacrifice. And in her own words, her journey can be captured in a poem: 

“Carved from struggle like Steve Biko I must write

My voice refuses to be silenced 

Like Maya Angelou - from dust and doubt I ascend

Still I rise.”

Words: Lorna Charles-Wright

Photograph: Sethu Dlamini