By SARAH MWANZA –
ZAMBIA National Women’s Lobby laments lack of support for women political leaders in Zambia.
ZNWL chairperson Beauty Katebe said Zambian politics had always been male dominated since it is viewed as a preserve for men.
She said the trend has been worsened by the Zambian culture that promotes the view of leadership being a preserve for men.
Ms Katebe explained that due to lack of support from family members and the community, most women have remained unsuccessful in their leadership endeavours.
“There is need to change the mindset of people about women and leadership because what a man can do a woman can also do,” she said.
She further observed that Women lacked access to leadership opportunities within political parties.
Ms Katebe explained that in most political parties most key leadership positions were given to men while lower positions were reserved for women.
“We are calling on political parties to consider adopting more women to occupy important positions in the parties,” she said.
She also cited political violence and intimidation which was steadily increasing as another factor that was preventing women from aspiring for leadership.
“The commercialization of politics has made it very difficult for women to compete with men for political leadership positions because most women are not financially sound,” she said.
Ms Katebe said there was need for sustained sensitisation efforts for all stakeholders to emphasise the importance of women’s inclusion in leadership and decision making.
These interventions should include traditional leadership who are very influential in the community.
Men should also be sensitised on the benefits of women’s inclusion in governance while women should be helped to believe in themselves and enhance their leadership potentials.
She further called on women to position themselves for leadership by working for their community.
She said women should also improve their academic qualifications and be pro-active in resource mobilisation because politics had become highly commercialised.
