Women need more educational opportunities

EDUCATION is key to development; yet, some Zambian women are still unable to go to school to acquire educational and professional qualifications.

Woman who have been unable to attain any educational and professional qualifications have been disadvantaged at every point of the public administrative system.

In general, societal prejudice tends to limit the scope of educational and professional training open to women.

Many women tend to follow the traditional expected pattern of acquiring sufficient general education to be able to relate with their educated husbands, bring up their children and obtain employment compatible with their traditional roles.

In Zambia, men have an advantage in accessing, re- sources, such as capital, land, entrepreneurial skills and other factors of production.

Apart from education, these resources provide the ability that men can use to add value to themselves more easily than women.

Moreover, comparatively, women are unable to challenge their male counterparts effectively in such public life positions as in the field of politics because of lack of funding.

However, there has been growing consensus building among key stakeholders on the need to empower women in the public service, to enhance optimum deployment and utilisation of human re- sources for effective and efficient service delivery to the citizenry.

This is evidenced in several legislative, policy and programme initiatives introduced and implemented by succeeding Governments over the years in collaboration with civil society organisations and development partners.

These have no doubt resulted in significant improvement in the advancement of gender-equality in Zambia.

However, there is the need to tackle a number of structural, legal and socio-economic and cultural barriers, to build on and consolidate the gains made so far.

According to gender activist Betty Mumba, Government, management of public service organisations, parents, teachers and civil society organisations need to come together and to ensure the empowerment of women towards national development.

“As usually practiced worldwide, patriarchy gives ascendancy to men in authority and decision-making in and outside the home.