Zambian president backtracks on gender equality

In the area of gender policy, Zambian president Rupiah Banda is clearly not following former president Mwanawasa’s legacy, as he had promised. Instead, it has become obvious from his words and deeds that he is deliberately backtracking.

By Sara Longwe, Women’s Rights Activist and MS Zambia Policy Advisory Council member

19. February 2009

In his speech at the opening of parliament on 16^th January 2009, President Rupiah Banda said that he will ‘appoint women on merit, not because of quotas’. In saying this, Banda is seriously backtracking on government’s present commitment to affirmative action.

The Strategic Plan of Action for the National Gender Policy (2004-2008) states that the government is committed to ‘to achieve equality in decision-making in all spheres’, and to ‘allocate quotas for women to participate in all spheres of development’ [p51).

This established government policy is in line with various international and regional instruments which Zambia has signed. For example, according to the Women’s Protocol of the African Charter, which Zambia ratified in 2006, Zambia is committed to ‘promote … the equal participation of women in the political life of their countries through affirmative action’ [Article 9].

Similarly the 2008 SADC Protocol on Gender and Development commits the government to ‘put in place affirmative measures … to eliminate all barriers which prevent women from participating’ [Article 5], and sets the year 2015 as the target date for when ‘at least 50% of decision-making positions … are held by women’ [Article 12].

Moreover, it was Banda himself, as Acting President, who ratified this 2008 SADC Protocol on behalf of Zambia, so he can scarcely claim to be ignorant of its provisions. But despite the requirements of this Protocol, Banda recently decreased the proportion of women in his cabinet from 19% to 12%.

In the area of gender policy, Banda is clearly not following Mwanawasa’s legacy, as he had promised. Instead, it has become obvious from his words and deeds that he is deliberately backtracking. All this is further worrying evidence of Banda’s attitude towards women.

Rupiah Banda was elected president of Zambia in elections held on 30th of October 2008. He replaced Levy Mwanawasa, who died of a stroke on 18th of August 2008, 3 years prior to the completion of his elected period.