Zambia Making Strides in Gender Equality, Mwamba Addresses UN
Zambia’s commitment to advancing gender equality took center stage as Hon. Doreen Mwamba, Minister of Community Development and Social Services, addressed the 68th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
In her official statement, Hon. Mwamba expressed Zambia’s optimism in achieving progress in gender equality through the empowerment of women and girls. She emphasized the government’s dedication to scaling up best practices in this endeavor.
Highlighting Zambia’s efforts, Hon. Mwamba underscored the importance of exploring innovative and non-traditional means of mobilizing financing for the empowerment of women and girls.
She also commended the strong legal and policy framework put in place by the government to address persistent gender inequalities.
However, amidst the progress, the Minister acknowledged several challenges hindering gender equality in Zambia. Women continue to face difficulties in accessing productive assets, which impede their entrepreneurial aspirations.
Moreover, gender-based violence remains a significant threat to the empowerment of women and girls.
To combat these challenges, Hon. Mwamba revealed that Zambia is implementing robust Social Protection Programmes. The Social Cash Transfer, for instance, extends coverage to 30 percent of the Zambian population, with a focus on assisting the poor and extremely poor households, a majority of which are headed by females.
The Zambian delegation, led by Hon. Mwamba, has been actively participating in the Commission since its opening on March 11th and will continue to engage until March 22nd, 2024.
