Stubbornness with a purpose
By Olivia Phiri

Women in Zambia are free liberated and proud. A small percent of them have had the opportunity to attend at least the basic level of education and have proceeded to University. The few elite have jobs and aspire to achieve greater heights. It is these few women who think they have the voice and the right to fight for their fellow women’s rights in society.

But one tends to question the motives considering natural selfishness of human beings in fighting for another person. Doesn’t one after some time develop ulterior motives especially in a society were poverty and lack of finances rule the day. The other reasons could be fear of being sidelined as a woman in decision making processes.

The creation of the women’s ministry is a good idea, but the women’s movement don’t agree with the governments motives and timing. The movement of all women focused non governmental organizations claim that the government did not do proper consultations with them for whom the ministry is being made.

The movement says the government did not review past mistakes and failures of the last ministry for women under the first republican president, Kenneth Kaunda. Dr Kaunda listened to the women and dissolved the ministry after two weeks of creation.

The ministry has just been created for politicking and confusion. The current government according to the women is just a way to segregate the women further and show lack of efficiency through lack of correlation between the other ministries and other departments through lack of equal distribution of finances.

The women’s movement sees the ministry as an infringement of their basic right. They say they should have been asked about issues that concern them instead of being imposed on as has been done for centauries. The women are tired and angry.

They want the ministry dissolved immediately and say if the government goes through with the ministry, they will play no part in its work.