Women urged not to sell land

THE Parliamentary committee on land has said there can only be equal access to land by men and women when women stop selling land in their possession.
The committee, chaired by Kalomo Central member of Parliament Request Muntanga, observed that some women are frustrating the efforts of their counterparts who are fighting tirelessly to have more women access land.
Mr Muntanga said there must be accountability and transparency in the way women are selling land.
He said this when acting House of Chiefs representative Elina Phiri appeared before the committee to discuss access to land by women.
“If a study was to be conducted, you will discover that most women now have access to land but majority of them are selling it. And most of those who are buying this land from women are men, resulting in more men having more access to land,” Mr Muntanga said.
And Nalikwanda MP Geoffrey Lungwangwa said having more female chiefs in the country will contribute to increased access to land by women, especially in the rural areas.
Professor Lungwangwa said most tribes in Zambia are matrilineal and that is why women must ascend to the chieftainship.
“Most tribes in our country follow the matrilineal set-up and as such we must have more women ascending to the chieftainship; this will benefit a lot of women in return,” he said.
In response Ms Phiri said inasmuch as most tribes in the country are matrilineal, society still has the patriarchal system in place which has continued to disadvantage women.
Mrs Phiri said most women gain access to land through their sons, especially when one is married.
She also called for land acquired by women to be registered to avoid being grabbed in the future.