Blog Post #4- Women and Development- A Zambian Case Study

Women and Development- A Zambian Case Study

Introduction: 

In my previous blog post I discussed how race and historical racial tensions affected land use in Africa. However, other social policies and norms aside from ones based around race also contribute a lot to the current physical landscape and productivity of many countries in Africa. One of those being the issue of gender. Most of Sub-Saharan Africa is patriarchal and subscribe to many traditional norms and policies, especially when it comes to land ownership systems. Although many African countries have ratified the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), tribal or conservative norms prevail in local policy and practice. (Yeboah 2014). As the continent continues in its development, it is imperative that gender equality be at the forefront of development initiatives. 

There are many linkages between issues of gender equality and development such as education, land ownership, and labor rights. For instance, in Rwanda after the genocide, many households were suddenly without a male head so changes to policy to match the exigency of the country's new demographics were imperative. (Ibid). These changes allowed for the country to economically stabilize and develop significantly. When evaluating the development of any country, looking through key issues through a gender lens is not only necessary because women provide half or more of a country's human capital, but because it is often times a matter of human rights. Empowering women and normalizing gender equal policies is step towards positive development in multiple sectors. Land ownership in particular has been cited as one of the key issues keeping not only women back, but countries as a whole. 

"Land is one of the cornerstones of economic development on which farmers, pastoralists and other communities base their livelihoods. Land is also a significant component of business assets, which play significant role in business investment strategies. Thus, securing land rights can have a profound impact on economic development...land is a source of identity and cultural heritage."  (Akinola 2018)

UN- Deepika Nath

Case Study- Zambia:

Zambia's Geography and Demographics Statistics:

Although a large portion of Zambia's economy is made up of natural resources, particularly minerals and rare metals, 58% of the land is arable. (FAO 2018).  This astounding amount of arable land is due to higher levels of rainfall (mean 1020 mm/year- FAO 2005) for Sub-Saharan Africa, however, the country is subject to drought and extreme rainfall variance depending on the region of the country. The country is situated in both the Zambezi River Basin (South) and the Congo River Basin (North) with many lakes and smaller river systems in its interior. As the country lies within the Tropics, water collection/catchment or distribution is not really one of the main issues Zambia faces with its development. However, it is land management and social issues that causes the unfortunate problem of underutilization of land. 

According to the 2010 Census, the population of Zambia is predominantly female with about a 200,000 population gender disparity. (Central Statistical Office 2012). However, this census data shows an important development in gender. In the 2000 Census, men outnumbered women by the same margin, so this incredible change in the ratio of men to women creates an interesting development as to how the country should move forward with gender equality. 

Map of Zambia

Historical Context of Gender Discrimination and Inequality:

Although Zambia has ratified CEDAW and the International Labour Organisation (ILO), signed the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Declaration on Gender and Development, and adopted into their constitution measures to promote women in development, Zambia's inclusion of women not only in politics but also in the labor force has fallen short. There are many existing laws within the Zambian constitution that are still based upon tribal or traditional views of women. (OHCHR 2002). These include women's rights to property, classification of women's labor, and customary laws. Aside from the legal discrimination of women, Zambia has a high rate of gender based violence (GBV) cases. Between 2016 and 2017, the number of GBV cases rose 18.6%. (UN Africa Renewal). 

Within the framework of land usage and rights which this blog is primarily about, it is important to understand Zambia's historical land tenure arrangements. Zambia, even as part of the British Empire, had a system of land tenureship that split land between tribal/customary law, nontribal, and government owned land. (Machina 2002). However, none of these distributions did anything to include land rights to women. Although technically women are allowed to apply for land just like their male counterparts in accordance to the Lands Act, within the historically unequal and discriminatory culture Zambian women are still denied more often than men due to the lack of gender sensitive language. (Ibid). Customary law has been and is still the largest barrier to women obtaining rights to own land and rights to work the land. 

Zambia National Women's Lobby

Moving Forward:

With women in Zambia making up a majority of the labor force, it is time that they become part of the development discourse. Zambia has made strides to be more inclusive of women, such as creating the Women in Development coalition and plan (Keller and Mbewe 2011), these sorts of initiatives are not representing the rural women whose labor and work can economically lift up the country. As the gender gap increases, gender inequality is a social issue that the Zambian government cannot ignore for long. Steps to alleviate barriers to land ownership and measures to include women in workforce statistics are necessary in order to continue the gender equality discourse in Zambia.