Lundazi women's rights and local governance promotion project (LWRLGP), Zambia Governance Supported Project

Zambia like many other countries is concerned about the situation of women and recognises that women and girls should enjoy the rights to participate in local governance and decision making on equal terms with men and women, boys, and girls in every area of life. Unequal power relations mean that millions of women and girls in Zambia are denied their basic rights and therefore kept in poverty.  They may suffer physical and sexual violence, socially excluded from participating in governance structures, be discriminated against in the community, workplace and in school, and be denied the opportunity to influence and take part in decisions which impact their lives.

It is against this backdrop that RFDP Zambia launched a Lundazi women’s rights and local governance promotion project (LWRLGP), whose main goal is to increase women participation in local governance and decision making and ensure that women and men benefit and participate equally in the development process in Lundazi and Lumezi District in eastern Zambia.

The Overall objective of the project is to increase women participation in local governance and decision making and ensuring that women and men benefit and participate equally in the development process.

The project Outcome are as follows.

Outcome 1: Changes in attitude, behaviour, practices of men and women, boys and girls towards women to realise their rights.

Outcome 2: Capacity of traditional leaders, Mens Support networks, Village Women Networls and Zambia national Gender Policy Implementation monitors developed.

Outcome 3: Zambia National Gender Policy popularized amongst women and the community members.

Outcome 4: Government and traditional leaders (policy makers and duty bearers) influenced and engaged. 

Expected Impact

The following are the desired impacts of the initiative.

• Traditional leaders especially chiefs, Induna’s and headmen take an active role in ensuring that women have access to and control over productive resources such as land, credit, education, technology, information and training.
• Transparency and gender equity in the allocation of resources such as land which also includes residential and commercial plots.
• Change in perception in the community leading to 50% Leadership positions (ward councillors, group head women) in community structures (such as chief’s traditional courts, group headmen councils, water and sanitation committees, orphan care committees and other support groups) being taken by women.
• Women and men understand and translate issues of gender stemming from the CEDAW and National Gender Policy.
• Women are effectively participating in policy engagement activities with their leaders and managing community developmental programs.
• Women rights are recognised, realised, respected and incorporated in the day to day lives of the local community members.
• Women have control over productive resources and participating in decision making processes at family and community level.eg during marriages, funerals.
• Changes in attitudes, behaviors and practices of the population and decision-makers with respect to women’s rights.
• Constituents are knowledgeable on the existence of the national gender policy and what it entails