We’ll enact gender equality law - MPs

MEMBERS of Parliament (MPs) have pledged to enact the Gender Equality Bill into law once it’s presented to Parliament.
Government is currently formulating the gender equality bill with a view of addressing injustices against women in the country.

In an interview with Femail, Mwandi member of Parliament Michael Kaingu said the formulation and enactment of the Gender Equality Bill is timely as it will see the eventual domestication of international instruments Zambia is signatory to.
Mr Kaingu said Zambia has of late seen an increase in the cases of gender inequalities such as poverty, limited access to tertiary education by female youths and gender based violence.
He said “the Gender Equality Bill once made into law will also greatly benefit rural women who usually have no one to speak for them.”
And Bweengwa parliamentarian Highvie Hamududu reiterated calls for the enactment of the Gender Equality Bill.
Mr Hamududu added that gender inequalities have subsequently seen programmes like the farming input support programme being dominated by males.
He said women should be given access to farming inputs including land because they are the major producers of food.
“We believe this law will bring equality and sanity in the way things are run in this country and I believe any legislator will support such a progressive bill into law,” he said.
And he has since called on all MPs to support the bill once it gets to Parliament.

Male circumcision increases by 6%

UP TO 98,000 males aged between 15 and 49 were circumcised between January and April this year, recording a 40 percent increase compared to 34 percent during the same period in 2013, National Voluntary Male Circumcision (NVMC) coordinator Albert Kaonga has said.

The NVMC has also disclosed that 800,000 males have up to date been circumcised since the programme started in 2007. Dr Kaonga said this in an interview with Femail during the week.
Dr Kaonga has attributed the increase in the number of males getting circumcised to the integration of male circumcision programme into health services provided in all health centres.
“We have extended our April campaigns to September this year in order to reach our target of circumcising 1.9 million HIV negative males by 2015. People are now having a sense of ownership of the male circumcision programme, they have realised that it is one of the key drivers in the fight against HIV/AIDS,” Dr Kaonga said.
He also said Copperbelt has continued to record the highest number in males requesting circumcision services followed by Lusaka.
Dr Kaonga said 80,000 male infants were circumcised between 2010 and 2013.
He also said Government has no intention of making male circumcision mandatory and compulsory in new born males because this is voluntary service.
He has since called on traditional rulers to encourage their male subjects to seek circumcision services, adding that circumcision programmes can only be scaled-up if more traditional rulers get on board and sensitise their subjects on their importance.

Luapula children shun school for ‘finkubala’

HE DESCRIBES them as slimy but tasty; and between October and November every year, four-year old Mwango (not real name) dashes into the bush to catch caterpillars.

Mwango who lives in Katungulu in Chief Munkanta’s area of Kawambwa in Luapula Province says caterpillar catching a source of income and relish for his family. His whole family is engaged in the trade which he describes as tiresome but beneficial.
Like Mwango, the locals and their children in many parts of the province engage in caterpillar catching as a means of survival of their families.
This came to light when the Media Network for Child Rights and Development (MNCRD) embarked on a sensitisation campaign of the province with the hope of making the Early Childhood Care Development and Education (ECCDE) policy more profound.
Unfortunately, this is done at the expense of education; particularly early childhood education which was introduced earlier this year.
Upon its ascendency to power, government pronounced that early childhood education should to be compulsory to all children irrespective of status and background. This was followed by the establishment of centres in all government schools countrywide.
The strategic sensitisation campaigns done by MNCRD were conducted in Mansa, Mwense, Samfya, Kawambwa, and Nchelenge districts. Luapula Province has one of the lowest access to early childhood education services at seven percent at national level.
It is hoped that with the introduction of early childhood education services in all government schools, this figure will rise. However, this policy is likely to suffer setbacks due to caterpillar-catching which is one of the main occupations of the locals in the province.
And that is why Luapula Province Education officer Smith Bweupe noted with concern that caterpillar-catching is likely to act as a hurdle to the ECCDE policy.
This is because most children in these areas normally abandon school in preference to catching caterpillars.
He further noted that even some parents leave their homes and take their small children with them to the bush in search of caterpillars.
“It is disheartening to see mothers with their babies and younger children strapped on their backs going into the bush to catch caterpillars. And this trend is common in October and November depending on the area,” he said.
However, Mr Bweupe was quick to say he has engaged district education board secretaries in the province to sensitise parents on the importance of not to engaging their children in the caterpillar catching business.
He said parents also needed to be sensitised on the importance of early childhood education.
“Caterpillars will always be there and that is why I am saying it is important that parents are made aware that children should not be sent to catch caterpillars at the expense of education,” he advised.
Meanwhile, Mr Bweupe said on average, the ECCDE policy is faring relatively well as there are 88 early childhood education centres in Mansa.
He also disclosed that for the policy to be succeed, the province requires over 1,000 teachers but Government only managed to send 100 with each district receiving ten.
“We were given 100 early childhood education teachers but only 100 were sent to Luapula Province and each district received 10, which is not good enough because the need is overwhelming,” he said.
The sensitisation campaign also saw Kawambwa District education board secretary Patrick Soko adding that the early childhood education policy had been well received by parents in the district.
Parents were particularly happy because they now have some where to leave their children as they carry on with their other duties.
He however, cautioned teachers against beating children and ensuring that they take good care of them in order to gain the trust and respect of parents.
“Parents should be able to entrust their children with teachers, knowing too well that the person I have left their children with is able to take proper care of them,”
“Once parents gain the trust of teachers then the ECCDE policy will be more effective,’ he noted.
And Provincial Education Standard Officer for Open and Long Distance Learning Julius Kabungo said the ECCDE policy can only be sustainable if there is political will. And parents should also be able to sustain the early childhood education programme.
He said communities should as also supplement Government efforts by raising money to pay teachers,” he said.
Early childhood education should not be a luxury meant only for those who can afford but even the vulnerable children should have access to it.

Women shun politics

MARRIED women in Western Province are shunning active politics for fear of being divorced; the Zambia National Women’s Lobby (ZNWL) has said.
ZNWL Western Province board member Bridget Akalaluka said in an interview that cultural hurdles have continued impeding women’s participation in politics.

She lamented that society see women who stand to address the crowd as disobedient. “Men find it cultural misfit to see a woman standing before a crowd and worse still before men to address them,”
“There is need to sensitise people here in our province on the importance of women participating in politics in line with the SADC protocol on gender and development,” she stressed.
And ZNWL Southern Province board member Joyce Musha reiterated calls that men should be sensitised on the need for their wives to participate in politics.
Ms Musha said married women in rural areas fear to be divorced if they attempt to take part in politics.
She said women should therefore be encouraged to take part in politics to boost their numbers in decision-making processes.
“The other challenge we are having is that, most of our women are not educated and that makes them shun politics,” Ms Musha said.

‘Ng’ombe school needs material’

NG’OMBE School Parents and Teachers Association (PTA) chairperson Margret Tembo has called on Government to aid the school with learning materials to cushion the rising demand for quality education in the community.

Ms Tembo said at a Madison Insurance-sponsored child motivation ceremony in Lusaka that the school enrolment has gone up to 604 from 564 last year. While demand for adult literacy has also gone up with 124 scholars.
Ms Tembo said “the school lacks desks, text books and computers in the newly-established laboratory to cater for the rising demand for education in Ng’ombe community.”
The ceremony saw Patson Kaweme and Saviour Nkonde receive awards for scoring the highest at grade seven and nine, respectively.
However, Ms Tembo said despite the challenges, the school is still the most preferred in the community due to outstanding the performance it has recorded over the years. “We are doing exceptionally compared to some high profile schools,” she said.
And Madison General Insurance Company head of Public Relations Kelvin Mwale pledged to continue supporting the school because of the remarkable successes pupils have continued scoring.
The realisation of the awards ceremony acts as an inspiration to pupils to strive to get better results.
“Mr Headmaster, we are proud and encouraged that some of pupils you nurtured and produced from this school have progressed to different secondary schools and have continued to shine brightly in their education,” he said.
And Ceaser Sakala, a grade eight pupil called on other companies to emulate Madison General in ensuring pupils from community schools realise their dreams.
She said “this colourful ceremony is a reminder to many of us that the sky shouldn’t be the limit but we must work hard at school as a way of alleviating poverty in our community.”

Chief Chipepo allocates land to women

CHIEF Chipepo of Southern Province says he has started allocating land to women in his chiefdom because they are the major producers of food.

The traditional leader said he has taken the mantle to empower women with land because they have potential to eradicate hunger in any given society when empowered.
He has since attributed the bumper harvests recorded in his chiefdom to women.
He is of the view that “very few men in my chiefdom produce food and that is why I have made it mandatory for women to own land.”
He added that women farmers have also been encouraged to form clubs where they will be assisted with farming inputs and equipment.
The chief also expressed happiness over the reduction in gender-based violence (GBV) in his chiefdom. He has initiated a by-law where any man who beats his wife is also flayed by palace guards.
“We always beat the perpetrators of GBV for them to feel how their wives feel when they are beaten,” he said.
Meanwhile, the traditional ruler further expressed happiness over people’s adherence not to marry off their young daughters.

Lusaka pupils donates to Heifer

PUPILS at the American International School of Lusaka (AIS) have donated K7,000 to Heifer Zambia with view to end hunger and poverty among families in Mumbwa.

Heifer Zambia has since last year been running a programme dubbed ‘Read to feed with AIS, where pupils raise money for vulnerable families through reading.
Speaking at the presentation of funds during the week, Heifer Planning Monitoring and Evaluation Manager Siphiwe Kaponda said the funds received will be used to help families in Mumbwa with livestock.
Ms Kaponda disclosed that about 10 families will be helped with livestock this year.
She said “we will soon arrange a field visit to Mumbwa with the pupils at AIS where they will have an opportunity to see the families.”
And Terry McGuire, a teacher at AIS said the Read to feed programme has not only helped in improving the lives of vulnerable families but also improved the reading culture among pupils.
Ms McGuire expressively said pupils in the seventh and eighth grade took part in the Read to feed programme.
She has since pledged to continue working with Heifer Zambia in their endeavour to eliminate hunger and poverty in Zambia.
“Our pupils were happy to take part in this programme, it is a good for the improvement of their reading,’ Ms McGuire said.
And Linnea Bidder, an eighth grader said she felt compelled to take part in the programme because she has the heart for the vulnerable.
Linnea said her reading culture has tremendously improved because of the programme.
“I managed to read 10 books in a row and for every book I read, my parents gave me a K5,” she said.