By PEZO SIABASIMBI –

IT is a well-known fact that persistent high levels of poverty and  inequality remain the biggest development challenge in Zambia, particularly amongst women.
The fight against poverty, inequality and unemployment has been of high priority for Zambia since its independence in 1964, though with little success.
Although the country has experienced strong economic growth in the previous years, the progression has not translated into significant poverty reduction nor has it improved general living conditions of the majority.
While mining has been the cornerstone of the country’s economy, there is a strong advocacy on the need to diversify into agriculture, livestock and fisheries development as the sectors are perceived to be key drivers to sustainable development.
This is backed by the fact that about 56 percent of the Zambian
population lives in rural and 90 percent of this population is dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods.
Women apparently play a critical role in all aspects of agricultural activities in Zambia. However, the country is faced with numerous obstacles that hinder the full participation of women in development activities.
Some of the impediments result from cultural and social practices that obstruct women from exploiting the resources and opportunities for development while others are political.
For instance women in Zambia form 52 percent of the total population, but there are fewer than 17 female Members of Parliament (MPs) out of 156 elective seats. This is a representation of only 11.3 percent of parliamentarians.
Admittedly, this indicates that the participation and contribution of women is still highly underplayed and unappreciated.
Rural women are at the heart of most agricultural activities, constituting 60 percent of the small scale farming community.
Sadly, while rural women form a huge labour force in agriculture, their efforts have been facing  various challenges such as discrimination in the access of land, credit facilities and other privileges enjoyed by their male counterparts.
Interestingly, they work more but have less command over household income as well as assets and they do not have control over their own labour yet they are the backbone of the Zambian family and community structure.
Zambia a party to the Convection of Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) which highlights the importance of women’s equal access and opportunities to political and public life and targets to eliminate harmful culture and tradition that hinder women’s rights.
The Government has been implementing various programmes aimed at assisting the women, but very little has changed as women still face numerous challenges in their lives.
It is against this background that Heifer International Zambia (HIZ) is working to complement government’s efforts in promoting empowerment of resource poor and marginalized women.
The international organisation is providing the women with livestock and entrepreneurship training in order to move them out of poverty and vulnerability.
HIZ country director James Kasongo says it is difficult for any government in the world to provide all human necessities in all parts of the country.
“As Heifer International, our mission is to end hunger and poverty whilst caring for the earth,” he said. “No government in the world can be everywhere and touch all corners of the world.
“There is always some room that remains and this is where citizens should come in and complement government efforts. Therefore as Heifer International, we feel it is our responsibility to work within
government’s policies to proactively contribute to ending hunger and poverty in Zambia.”
Mr Kasongo says the organisation has been empowering small scale
farmers especially women and youth with livestock and training to sustain their livelihoods because they believe they are the most vulnerable in society.
Mr Kasongo says the organisation valued women because they play a
critical role in providing for their families and that once empowered,the entire community benefits.
Sarah Mujuru of Kapiri Mposhi district in central Province is one of the beneficiaries of Heifer International’s livestock and training.
Like many others, she feels the international organisation is breaching the gap left by the Government in assisting the women.
Ms Mujuru said she was indebted to Heifer International for giving her dairy cow that gave her milk worth K1,000 per month.
“Before joining Heifer project, I struggled to put food on my table, because as a single mother, I didn’t know how I was going to provide necessities for my children,” she said.
“Life became so tough for me, I depended on selling my labour to earn a living, but things changed when I received a dairy cow from Heifer International in 2010. When my cow calved down, I started selling milk and realized about K1,000 monthly.”
Ms Mujuru has been able to provide for the family through the sale of milk. She also has a garden and uses manure for her vegetables. She plans to set up an enterprise which will be bringing more income on a monthly basis.
She is among many women in the district that have improved their household economic status after benefiting from the dairy cows from Heifer International.
HIZ director of programmes Nachimuka Cheepa says apart from giving dairy cows to women, the organisation has also helped to link the women to markets and other service providers.
This has been done to enable women have access to productive inputs and better markets for their produce.
“Women are subject to discrimination in labour, access to credit and a variety of other markets and they own less productive assets compared to men,” she explained.
“Traditionally, ownership of livestock such as cattle was a preserve for men whilst women owned chickens. Therefore as the organisation, we have taken a deliberate move to target women groups as a way of reaching out to them by providing them an opportunity to own cattle and other resources.”
She also urged women to form groups that can help them access services and resources not only from Heifer International but also other organisations who were interested in women empowerment.
Ms Cheepa noted that the Government and other organisations only empowered people who were well organized in groups and not individuals. There is hardly doubt that women are the backbone of the Zambian
family and community structure. They carry  heavier burden than men.
In this regard, empowering them would not only benefit their families but the community at large because they contribute to the health and productivity of families and communities.
It is just hoped that the efforts by Heifer International can be replicated by many other organisations to ensure that many women are empowered economically.