By BRIAN HATYOKA –
ZAMBIA is still struggling to attain the 50–50 threshold of gender representation in political leadership.
According to results of women’s participation in the 2021 general elections compiled by the Non-Governmental Gender Organisation Coordinating Council (NGOCC), very few women were elected as councilors, council chairpersons and Members of Parliament (MPs).
NGOCC says 141 women and 1, 698 men were elected as councilors during last year’s elections.
Further, 15 women and 104 men were elected as council chairpersons during the same polls while 20 women and 136 men were elected as MPs.
Such statistics do not sit well with chapter 8(d) of Zambia’s Constitution which provides for human dignity, equity, social justice, equality and non-discrimination.
There are many factors which prevent women from active participation in political leadership.
These include fear, cultural barriers, poverty, illiteracy, limited access to education, lack of self confidence, political violence and cyber bullying.
However, not all is lost as some women are determined to change the narrative in the male dominated political field.
Mundia Hamaundu, Chisekesi ward councillor under Monze Central Constituency of Monze district in Southern Province, is positive that women can still change the bad narrative.
Ms Hamaundu, 37, is the only female councillor at the Monze Town Council which has 25 councillors from three constituencies namely Monze Central, Moomba and Bweengwa.
She has encouraged women and girls to aim higher and participate in political leadership as nothing is impossible.
Ms Hamaundu says Zambia has many organisations, including the Zambia Council for Social Development (ZCSD) and NGOCC, which support women and girls who are interested in political leadership.
“Let the women come forth and participate in political leadership. They should emulate those of us who are female leaders,” she said.
Ms Hamaundu also encouraged women to support one another if the country was to reach the 50-50 women and men representation threshold in decision making positions.
She further urged society not to overshadow women who are in interested in political leadership.
Ms Hamaundu encouraged girls, especially those who are in school as well as those who have dropped out to desist from engaging in child marriages and putting themselves at risk of teen pregnancies.
“Girls who like early marriages should rethink on such practices. They should get motivated from women who have risen in their careers, like Vice President WK Mutale Nalumango and Speaker of the National Assembly of Zambia Nellie Mutti,” she said.
Ms Hamaundu said there is need to inspire every girl child to aim higher in their education.
She said so far, she is not satisfied with women representation in political leadership in Monze.
She says she is lonely as the only female councillor in the Monze Town Council.
Ms Hamaundu said more women are needed in leadership positions so that they ably speak out on issues affecting women.
For example, there are specific issues that concern women, such as menstruation periods for girls in schools.
Women are better placed to articulate the importance of such issues as failure to manage the periods can lead to poor academic performance and low class attendance among school girls.
Ms Hamaundu said Monze Town Council had one female councillor in the past, but the woman did not finish her term due to death.
The deceased was replaced by a male councilor.
Ms Hamaundu, who is a mother of one boy and grew up in Pemba district in Southern Province, is the second female councilor in the Monze local authority.
She attended Ndondi and Mbole for her primary education after which she went to Njase Girls Secondary School in Choma district for her secondary school education from Grade Eight to Grade 12.
After grade 12, Ms Hamaundu did a certificate in accounts in Kasama.
She also studied Financial Accounting and Management at Zambia Centre for Accountancy Studies (ZCAS) and obtained an accounting qualification called Natech at Nkumbi International College.
Ms Hamaundu got interested in politics around 2016, but her political ambitions only reached the climax in 2021.
According to Ms Hamaundu, she had the zeal to contest elections one day before 2016, but she later grew cold feet due to fear.
This arose from the fact that politics was usually dominated by men with financial stability.
“In 2016, I managed to conquer fear and applied to context on United Party for National Development (UPND) ticket. I was called for interviews but I was not picked because I did prepare enough,” she said.
Ms Hamaundu did not give up on her political intentions after the 2016 disappointment.
She kept engaging the local people and supported the communities through the ward and constituency committees.
Ms Hamaundu further started working with the councilor then and used that platform to market her capabilities in politics.
When the councillor was absent due to other commitments, she was always there to support the local communities.
At this point, people saw her passion and gained interest in her.
In 2021, many people encouraged Ms Hamaundu to contest the general elections as a councillor.
Others told her that they would apply for her to be adopted on the UPND ticket if she did not apply.
“With such solidarity, I applied alongside two males. Afterwards, the UPND adopted me to contest as a ward councilor for Chisekesi. When the August 12 elections were held, the electorate voted for me as their area councillor,” she said.
Ms Hamaundu recalled that it was not easy for her to campaign especially that she was the only female among male aspiring candidates from different political parties.
She was lucky that that ZCSD, through Gender Justice, sponsored her to market herself on radio on a certain day.
This followed the introduction of the Carter Center project in Monze, Kabwe, Mpika, Lusaka and Mufulira districts prior to August 12, 2021 general elections.
The said project was aimed at facilitating the participation of women and youths in elections.
Ms Hamaundu said her campaign team was vulnerable due to lack of finances for the campaigns but they still did their best to attract voters.
She is happy that the electorate accepted the campaign messages from her team irrespective of inadequate resources.
“You need money and materials to sell your manifesto during campaigns.
In my case, I didn’t have enough money to roll out my campaigns.
By that time, UPND was in the opposition, so it was very difficult to mobilise campaign resources,” she said.
Ms Hamaundu said politics is not a dirty game as some sections of society perceive it.
“Now that cadrerism is gone and we have a new dawn in the political arena, I encourage women to come forth and be counted. We need to participate in serving the community,” she said.
The councilor further commended the Government for the increased allocation to the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) from K1.6 million to K25.7 million per constituency in this year’s National Budget.
She said the move will uplift the lives of many people across the country.
In this regard, Ms Hamaundu is busy sensitising women in Chisekesi Ward to form clubs and cooperatives so that they register them and stand a good chance of accessing CDF for their projects.
She said empowerment funds will only be given to registered entities with certificates and not questionable individuals without credentials.
She said without the required documentation, it will be difficult for women to access funding for their projects.
Ms Hamaundu is also hopeful that dilapidated bridges will be repaired in her ward when funds are available.
She said some people in her ward have been cut off from accessing clinics and schools due to the poor state of roads and bridges.
“Most roads are in bad shape and are impassable in the rural parts of my ward. As it is now, people are moving longer distances to access schools and clinics,” she said.
Ms Hamaundu recently went round in schools and found that most learning institutions lack furniture.
She said Chisekesi Secondary School has computers, but the school has no electricity.
“I want this school to be connected to electricity. Further, Simukali School near Lwiindi Gonde ceremony venue has no power and it is my hope that it should also be connected to electricity,” she said.
Ms Hamusonde said there is need to ensure that school pupils are exposed to learning computer lessons.
“If our schools have no power, then that will be a disaster for our learners,” she said.
It is hoped that Ms Hamaundu’s profile will inspire women, especially those who shun political leadership, and other decision making positions.