AS a young girl having just reached puberty, Sara Longwe took her father to task when he beat her because she had been strictly counselled never to allow any man even if it was her father to touch her body.
Uh! It was unheard of to set up a family tribunal to take a father to task to explain why he should beat his supposedly ‘grown’ daughter.
Another interesting episode in her career was when she resigned from her job as a young teacher at Kamwala Secondary School in Lusaka after she was denied maternity leave.
In another run in with authority was as a teacher at Kabulonga Secondary School, she insisted on wearing trousers to school which was not allowed.
The issue was escalated to the office of the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, which now forced her to form a lobby group called Zambia Association for Research and Development (ZARD) in 1984.
The lobbying group succeeded in forcing Government to introduce maternity leave for female teachers and in ensuring Zambia ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
The list of battles for equality which started at personal level is endless and no wonder she describes herself as, ‘a radical feminist activist’.
Sara Longwe said “I have always looked out for rights and to ensure they are not violated. If anyone violates them, I take them to task.”
It is clear that the fight for gender equality in the country gained momentum during her days and as Zambia celebrates her golden jubilee this year, Ms Longwe pondered on feminine activism in the country since independence.
“As the old breed of activists, a lot was achieved during our time. We managed to fight for women’s right to maternity leave, access to bank loans, and the idea of mother’s day in all institutions, the list is endless,” she chuckled.
It is rather true that the freedoms women and girls are now enjoying can be attributed to these women who fought tirelessly at the expense of their families and a sexist society..
Perhaps they managed to achieve a lot because of their combined efforts and oneness.
“Activism of yester years was about fighting for solidarity and fighting is about numbers,” Ms Longwe expressively said.
However, after 50 years of independence, only a handful of women have benefitted from this hard fought for activism.
It is only middle-class women in the urban areas who have greatly benefited because perhaps they do not understand what gender equality is all about.
That is why Ms Longwe said the ‘patriarchal system’ that still exists in the African set-up is the major hurdle feminine activism is still facing.
“It is now time for present day female activists to take their messages to the rural women because they are still lagging behind on gender equality due to the patriarch system of doing things,” she stressed.
It is however true because the Zambian Constitution borders mainly on customary laws hence the public outcry for a new one.
“That is why we need a new constitution because our laws still discriminate against women. For example, a girl is not protected from early marriages because our laws allows a girl at 18 years to be married and many other oppressive laws,” Ms Longwe lamented.
And to consolidate her efforts and works, she made sure her three daughters were inspired and socialised to understand that there should be equality between a man and woman in every society.
Hence the need to introduce feminists teachings to girl children at a tender age in order for them to grow up knowing the value of equal opportunities and progress for both men and women.
To crown all her achievements, Ms Longwe was once awarded with the Africa Prize for Leadership in New York City in United States of America.
During her youthful days of activism, Ms Longwe had an opportunity to work with women movements such as Zambia National Women’s Lobby, Non-Governmental Organisation Coordinating Council, and Women in Law in Development in Africa and the Women in Law in Southern Africa.
At an international level, she has worked for FEMNET and Ubuntu based in Spain.
After her primary and secondary education, Ms Longwe who is married to popular columnist Roy Clarke later proceeded to the University of Zambia where she studied for a Bachelor of Arts in Education.
After resigning from her teaching, she did career guidance and further exposed herself to gender and development studies during the course of her duties.
She is not short of fun whenever time allows, and she describes herself as a darts, hockey fan.
“I always play dart, hockey with my family and friends when I am free. Sometimes I also enjoy watching movies from the cinemas and plays from theatres,” she said.As expected by society, everyone needs to have a spiritual aspect but alas, Ms Longwe is of the view that churches still preach messages that are discriminatory against women.
“They still consider women as second-class citizens who should be bulldozed around,” Ms Longwe concluded.
In another run in with authority was as a teacher at Kabulonga Secondary School, she insisted on wearing trousers to school which was not allowed.
The issue was escalated to the office of the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, which now forced her to form a lobby group called Zambia Association for Research and Development (ZARD) in 1984.
The lobbying group succeeded in forcing Government to introduce maternity leave for female teachers and in ensuring Zambia ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
The list of battles for equality which started at personal level is endless and no wonder she describes herself as, ‘a radical feminist activist’.
Sara Longwe said “I have always looked out for rights and to ensure they are not violated. If anyone violates them, I take them to task.”
It is clear that the fight for gender equality in the country gained momentum during her days and as Zambia celebrates her golden jubilee this year, Ms Longwe pondered on feminine activism in the country since independence.
“As the old breed of activists, a lot was achieved during our time. We managed to fight for women’s right to maternity leave, access to bank loans, and the idea of mother’s day in all institutions, the list is endless,” she chuckled.
It is rather true that the freedoms women and girls are now enjoying can be attributed to these women who fought tirelessly at the expense of their families and a sexist society..
Perhaps they managed to achieve a lot because of their combined efforts and oneness.
“Activism of yester years was about fighting for solidarity and fighting is about numbers,” Ms Longwe expressively said.
However, after 50 years of independence, only a handful of women have benefitted from this hard fought for activism.
It is only middle-class women in the urban areas who have greatly benefited because perhaps they do not understand what gender equality is all about.
That is why Ms Longwe said the ‘patriarchal system’ that still exists in the African set-up is the major hurdle feminine activism is still facing.
“It is now time for present day female activists to take their messages to the rural women because they are still lagging behind on gender equality due to the patriarch system of doing things,” she stressed.
It is however true because the Zambian Constitution borders mainly on customary laws hence the public outcry for a new one.
“That is why we need a new constitution because our laws still discriminate against women. For example, a girl is not protected from early marriages because our laws allows a girl at 18 years to be married and many other oppressive laws,” Ms Longwe lamented.
And to consolidate her efforts and works, she made sure her three daughters were inspired and socialised to understand that there should be equality between a man and woman in every society.
Hence the need to introduce feminists teachings to girl children at a tender age in order for them to grow up knowing the value of equal opportunities and progress for both men and women.
To crown all her achievements, Ms Longwe was once awarded with the Africa Prize for Leadership in New York City in United States of America.
During her youthful days of activism, Ms Longwe had an opportunity to work with women movements such as Zambia National Women’s Lobby, Non-Governmental Organisation Coordinating Council, and Women in Law in Development in Africa and the Women in Law in Southern Africa.
At an international level, she has worked for FEMNET and Ubuntu based in Spain.
After her primary and secondary education, Ms Longwe who is married to popular columnist Roy Clarke later proceeded to the University of Zambia where she studied for a Bachelor of Arts in Education.
After resigning from her teaching, she did career guidance and further exposed herself to gender and development studies during the course of her duties.
She is not short of fun whenever time allows, and she describes herself as a darts, hockey fan.
“I always play dart, hockey with my family and friends when I am free. Sometimes I also enjoy watching movies from the cinemas and plays from theatres,” she said.As expected by society, everyone needs to have a spiritual aspect but alas, Ms Longwe is of the view that churches still preach messages that are discriminatory against women.
“They still consider women as second-class citizens who should be bulldozed around,” Ms Longwe concluded.
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