SADC chiefs to enhance women’s access to land

CHIEF Bright Nalubamba of the Ila people in Namwala signs the declaration in which traditional leaders pledged to increase women’s access to customary land. Looking on is Chief Chikanta of Zambia, Chiefs Ndabeni and Khumalo of Zimbabwe. - Picture by SITEMBILE SIWAWA.



AS SHE spoke during a high level resolution meeting at chief Nalubamba’s palace in Mbeza chiefdom of Southern Zambia, it dawned on the traditional leaders that were present that there was need to empower women with customary land.

Senior headwoman Vennah Shabenge of Shabenge village boasted that every woman of Mbeza chiefdom has been empowered with customary land regardless of status.
She said “customary land is a necessity for every woman for the enhancement of food security of a nation.”
Ideally, women consist of a large population in many African countries and in Zambia majority of them stay in rural areas.
They also consist the majority small scale farmers who are the main producers of food and it is ideal they are empowered with customary land for sustainable rural development owning to the fact that agriculture remains the backbone of Africa’s economy.
However, narrowing it down to Zambia, 94 per cent of land is customary and only six per cent belongs to the state (statutory).
Realistically, Zambian state land now lies in the hands of political cadres and as such it has become difficult for women to access statutory land for fear of violence.
This has drastically curtailed the chances of most women especially those in rural areas from accessing and owning land.
Perhaps, this is why the onus has solely remained on traditional leaders to ensure that women access and own customary land.
In a quest to increase women’s land rights, ‘Women for Change’ in partnership with ‘We Effect’ of the Swedish International Organisation recently organised a high level Southern African Development Community (SADC) traditional leader’s conference on land rights for women.
The three day conference was dubbed ‘Women’s Land Rights are Human Rights-Secure Equitable Access, Control and Ownership of Land by All’ and participants included 20 traditional leaders from Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The saying ‘land is wealth’ held true for these traditional leaders who resolved and made a declaration that women should own customary land.
Strategically, the 20 traditional leaders resolved and signed a declaration that women will be given priority to own and control land.
Host chief, senior chieftainess Nkomeshya Mukamambo III of the Soli people of Lusaka said women make good use of land once they are empowered than men and this increase chance of rural development.
The traditional leader shared that if women are empowered with land they have the power to break the poverty cycle that exists in rural families.
However, she said it was not enough to empower women with land alone but they also needed to have it certificated.
Chieftainess Nkomeshya stressed that customary land should not be certificated under statutory land laws for fear of it being grabbed by the state.
“The power and authority of a chief lies in land and that is why all certification of customary land given to women should be registered under the community land certificate and not statutory law because we fear it can be taken away from the traditional leaders,” she resolved.
Additionally, Chief Charumbira of Zimbabwe resolved that Couples who are empowered with customary land will have a certificate which bears both names of the husband and wife.
He said such a development will protect women from being left without land in an event where the husband dies or divorces her.
The traditional leader shared that the new constitution of Zimbabwe allows 50 per cent of land allocation to women as opposed to the previous 30 per cent.
He said this has forced traditional rulers to further empower them with customary land.
Chief Charumbira said women are unable to generate sustainable household incomes from their farming activities due to lack of ownership of land.
“Having enough food is the fundamental human right and precondition for people to be able to participate in their own development. Access to land by women is a human right,” he said.
The traditional leader added that women in his chiefdom also have ownership rights to mines.
And chieftainess Tereza Ndovi of Malawi said customary land will be given to women in any area without any manner of discrimination.
She said there are no shortcuts to poverty eradication unless women are empowered with land.
She said land is not only for the purposes of agriculture but rather it can be used for activities such as house building.
“In Malawi, women cannot own customary land but can only access it because we believe they will eventually be married off. It is only those from the matrilineal setup who are fortunate to own land,” she said.
As they say, culture is dynamic and not static, it is imperative that the patriarch system which has existed since time immemorial is changed to allow for more women to own customary land.
Even married women who are either divorced or widowed have a right to have the land they once worked on with their husbands.
Perhaps, that is why chief Chikanta of Southern province shared that land in his chiefdom is not given to individuals but rather families.
He said communities need to sensitise women to ask land from their traditional leaders and they should be free to use the land for any activities.
Further, he said traditional leaders should endeavour to have participatory and dialogue meetings with both men and women.
And chief Bright Nalubamba said a woman is held in high esteem in his chiefdom and that was why they own land.
He said the declaration will ensure investors and communities establish a trust fund which will be ploughed back into building educational, health, sanitation and food security facilities.
He said women in his chiefdom do not ask for relief food from government due to the empowerment scheme of customary land ownership.
All this has been enabled through the Mbeza strategic action plan where both men and women are at the centre of the development of the chiefdom.
“When I say women, I mean all classes of women be it married, single or divorced, they all own land and are free to do anything with the land,” he narrated.
It is only hoped that traditional leaders will see to it that women’s access and ownership of land is enhanced and increased for the betterment of rural communities.

5 Lusaka health centres to be upgraded

By SITEMBILE SIWAWA
GOVERNMENT will soon commission the expansion of maternity wards in five health centres in Lusaka with the aim of providing 24 hours maternal healthcare to expectant mothers.
The targeted health centres are Matero, Kanyama, Chipata, Chilenje and Chawama.

In an interview with Femail during the week, Ministry of Community Development Mother and Child Health Permanent Secretary Elywin Chomba said the commissioning of the health centres will decongest the University Teaching Hospital and Levy Mwanawasa General Hospital.
Prof Chomba’s comments come in the wake of concerns raised by the general public that there was need to either expand or construct maternity wings in Lusaka clinics.
She said the five health centres will be converted to first level district hospitals.
“I’m glad to inform you that we are on course with the expansion of the maternity wings in our clinics here in Lusaka and soon UTH will be decongested and we will be able to provide our mothers with 24 hours services within their reach,” Prof Chomba said.
On August 2, Deacon Phiri appealed through Zambia Daily Mail on the need to expand the maternity wing at Kanyama Clinic. He bemoaned the congestion that characterised the health centre the time he took a female relative there.
“There is need to expand the maternity wing or build another, bigger maternity wing in the township to ease the suffering of expectant mothers,” the letter read in part.

3 southern African chiefs pledge to increase women’s access to land

By SITEMBILE SIWAWA
TRADITIONAL leaders from three countries in Southern Africa have committed themselves to increase women’s access to land by banning oppressive customary practices in their chiefdoms.
The traditional leaders include Chiefs Bright Nalubamba and Chikanta of the Tonga speaking people in Zambia, Chief Charumbira of Zimbabwe and Chieftainess Tereza Ndovi of Malawi.

Speaking during a plenary discussion at the just ended Southern Africa Traditional Leaders Conference organised by Womn for Change in partnership with the Swedish Government in Lusaka, Chief Nalubamba said certain customary practices hinder women from accessing land.
The conference which is the second to be held drew traditional leaders and civil society organisations from Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe and ran under the theme ‘human rights-secure equitable access control and ownership of land by all’.
The traditional leader said women are important and qualify to be given land as they are the major producers of food.
“In my chiefdom Mbeza, land is not owned individually but as a family. The moment a woman is married she qualifies to own land from the family she is married into, even if she is divorced,” he said.
Additionally, Chief Chikanta said communities need to be sensitised on the harmful practices that have continued to hinder women from accessing land.
He said the practice of women getting consent from their husbands to be given land should be abolished.
“For a long time now society has been patriarchal and that in itself has been a major stumbling block for women to access land,” he said.
Speaking earlier, Chief Charumbira of Zimbabwe shared that the new constitution in his country has allowed women to be allocated 50 per cent of land from 30 per cent.
He added that women have also been privileged to own mining rights in their respective areas.
The traditional ruler has since advised policy makers to address challenges women face in accessing land.
And Chieftainess Ndovi land access by women was slowly becoming a problem in her chiefdom due to population increase.
She said although the matrilineal system is one that guides in accessing land, final authority still lies in men.
The chieftainess said “chiefs and government have now drafted a bill on ensuring everyone registers their land to avoid land wrangles.”

GBV attracts State criticism

By SITEMBILE SIWAWA
THE recent spate of gender-based violence (GBV) in the country has been attributed to domestic fights and attracted fierce criticism from Government and women organisations.

Gender and Child Development Permanent Secretary Daisy Ngambi is saddened that despite the community being sensitised, the levels of GBV have continued to escalate. “Government is doing all it can but the levels have continued going up.”
She has attributed the escalating cases of GBV to lack of understanding between men and women. “I think the causes of GBV are both social and economic and both men and women should learn to co-exist,” Ms Ngambi said.
Additionally, Young Women Christian Association executive director Patricia Ndhlovu retaliated calls for more sensitisation messages to be sent in the communities and cautioned people to resolve matters amicably without getting physical.
A woman does not have the right to bruise her husband’s manhood’s when she is denied conjugal rights. “All in all, there is no justification whatsoever to get physical to get what you want,” Ms Ndhlovu said.
And she also welcomed the launch of the forensic laboratory by Government as it will quicken the pace at which GBV cases will be disposed off.

Education, recreation programme cheers State

By SITEMBILE SIWAWA
GOVERNMENT is impressed with the progression of the Education Recreation and Sanitation programme for children of street vendors in Kapiri Mposhi.

The Education Recreation and Sanitation programme was rolled out in Kapiri Mposhi in 2010 and is aimed at providing basic learning to children who spent most time on the streets with their parents.
In an interview, Ministry of Gender and Child Development Permanent Secretary Daisy Ngambi said the programme has helped a number of children for street vendors.
Ms Ngambi however bemoaned that parents are willing to entrust their children with community teachers assigned with the task.
She said “we are thinking of rolling out the programme to national level once we see how successful it will be in Kapiri Mposhi.”
“We target children differently according to their different age groups and their needs until they are 10 years and go into the mainstream education system,” Ms Ngambi said.
And a Lusaka based health nutritionist said young children who spend time on the streets with their parents need to be given nutritious foods.
Dr Keith Mwamba said children do need foods with high proteins, carbohydrates and vitamins.
He said “we have seen a situation where a young child spends the whole day on the streets with his/her mother without being given proper foods. What I’m advising the mothers is to prepare nutritious foods for their children as they go to conduct their business on the street.”

Respectful maternity care campaign launched

MINISTER of Health Joseph Kasonde speaking at the launch of the national dissemination of the State of the World Midwifery (SOWMY) 2014 Report and Respectful Maternity Care campaign recently. On the left is United Nations Population Fund country representative Mary Otieno and members of the nursing council. - Picture by SITEMBILE SIWAWA.



By SITEMBILE SIWAWA
“ONE incident that has never left my mind during my time in labour ward was when a pregnant woman in advanced labour failed to walk to the delivery room from the waiting bay. A midwife hit her so hard on her back that the baby and placenta fell out,” recounted Ethel Mwamba (not real name).

“When I was a student midwife, I witnessed an incident where a midwife pulled the labia of a woman in labour because, according to her, the woman was not cooperating. And during a vaginal examination, the woman was not comfortable but was told that the midwife’s hand was not as big as her husband’s penis which made her pregnant,” narrated Mwangala Maimbo (not real name¬).
“I remember when I was in labour; I was scared to scream out in pain for fear of being told that I was not a teenager that I should be giving midwives problems,” Memory Chitembo (not real name) sadly recalled.
These and many more are complaints women and perhaps their husbands in our communities have over the way expectant women at maternity wings in various public health centres are treated by midwives.
However, Chibeka Kasonkolo, a midwife at Chipata First Level Hospital in Lusaka, was quick to defend her colleagues saying “midwives work under stressful conditions and in most instances are understaffed”.
Ms Kasonkolo said midwives have a strategy where they give priority to young girls who are in labour for the first time as opposed to a woman who has had a child before.
She stressed that people should not see midwives as ‘super heroes’ but rather as people capable of making mistakes too.
Conceivably, to bring sanity to the noble profession and career that has been in existence for decades but has been characterised with a bad name; the Midwives Association of Zambia (MAD) last week launched a campaign dubbed: Respectful Maternity Care.
This campaign is aimed at helping healthcare workers and midwives tackle disrespect and abuse that expectant mothers endure at some facilities during childbirth.
MAZ president Genevieve Musokwa said the campaign is timely as it will improve attitudes of midwives towards expectant mothers and encourage mothers to also accord respect to midwives.
Ms Musokwa noted with concern that although some expectant mothers attend antenatal classes they prefer not to deliver their babies from health facilities due to bad attitudes of some midwives.
She is of the view that “the bad attitude of some midwives has contributed to the high maternal and morbidity cases the country is still grappling with”.
The campaign will be rolled out this week to all midwives in Lusaka before it is taken to other provinces. Others expected to join in are cleaning staff who are also reported to have a bad attitude towards expectant mothers.
“Come Monday, we shall convene all midwives to a campaign meeting so that they understand what is required of their noble profession,” she said.
Ms Musokwa was quick to advise student midwives to join the profession not for the money but to save lives of mothers and children.
Additionally, Health Minister Joseph Kasonde commended MAZ for the initiative as it will promote care that is sensitive to social and cultural needs in the provision of maternal and neo-natal services.
He said the campaign is a step in the right direction and that his ministry will support and encourage it. However, he said there is need to improve communication between the community and midwives.
“We cannot blame midwives in totality but rather it is a communication strategy that we need between communities and midwives,” he said.
“We are looking seriously into improving the quality of care offered by our midwives by bettering the quality of midwifery education and regulation.”
Dr Kasonde said this will contribute to reducing maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality.
And Content Development expert at General Nursing Council David Mbewe said the public has the right to lodge complaints over the bad attitude of some midwives.
Mr Mbewe said once a complaint is lodged, investigations are instituted to gather evidence so that a midwife is disciplined according to law by being barred from participating in the council activities.
“Once a midwife is barred and removed from the register it is difficult for such a person to receive recommendation from us in case they want to pursue a different field,” he said.
He has since advised midwives to report any bad attitude exhibited by their colleagues to relevant authorities.
“Failure to report bad behaviour exhibited by your colleagues to relevant authorities is also tantamount to committing a similar offence,” Mr Mbewe stressed.
Senior registration officer at the Health Profession Council of Zambia Bwembya Bwalya said the campaign will re-create a good picture midwives are supposed to have; to save lives. He also reiterated calls for midwives to report incidences of bad behaviour rather than keeping quiet.
“It is better to stand out as a professional than follow bad eggs in the system. The bad attitude we see sometimes is a reflection that some midwives need to go back to school as they left the institutions years ago,” Mr Bwalya said.