Zambia: Katete District Council Promotes Advocacy for Gender Equality

This is a project that is ensuring that all activities in the district are gender aware in all aspects. this includes all the departments in the district as they have to make gender aware plans so as to attain the equality that is desirable. All the activities done in the district are well integrated so as to be able to segregate the data at all entry points up to the implementation. information on service provision is also captured including offer of contracts as both sexes are encouraged to participate. all in all, all implemented activities are gender aware with results being very visible. The project is innovative as there are new things that are being implemented in the district have not been managed in other areas.

The key objectives of this project is to provide clean and safe water, maintenance of peri urban roads,  Infrastructure development, capacity building to communities, land allocation, National projects implementation, for example CDF projects, conducting IEC, and waste management.

The main activities are:

• conducted radio programs on waste management.
• Formation of ward development committee.
• Residence Development Committee.
• Formation of Village WASHE committees /APMs .
• Health inspections.
• Implementation of Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS).
• Implementation of 30% women to given land.
• Encouraging women in handing projects.

The project has benefited about 87 695 women with 79 795 direct beneficiaries. The project reaches 7 900 indirect beneficiaries.

The Katete District Council allocated $262 718 to this project. The total budget for the project is $262 718.

Methods used include the selective method where a number of factors are considered probably like checking on the employment and participatory trends in the district under different organizations, this covers both quality and quantity in terms of the calibers and numbers of people put in leading positions or just in other general positions. The same goes for service provision in terms of the recipients of the intended service.

Key challenges faced by this project are inadequate transport. Negative attitude by women in some communities to participate in developmental programs. Poor community participation in contributions, for example, upfront materials. Poor road network. Women fail to tender for capital projects. Sensitisation has been done to encourage both men and women to participate developmental projects.

Women have been empowered through the formation of silk groups, village banking by various stakeholders that are giving them knowledge  , some households have received inputs , goats for rearing from partner organisation like every home for Christ food and security, katete women’s association, vision fund ,community development who have continued encouraging women to form women groups and do village banking

My name is Rhoda Phiri from kalapula village and I’m a beneficiary of farming inputs fertiliser, maize seed, groundnuts, soyabeans and moquitonet received from every home for Christ which will planted this season and I promise to work hard during this farming season and the inputs have come at the right time.

Men are helping doing house hold cores and there is division of labour in most the households due to understanding of men and women to share responsibilities than to leave all the work for women.in some institutions some jobs that were considered to be for women are being done by men for instance at our council we have two office orderly and two are working at our motel where one is a chief and the other one is a room attendant .our gender focal person Is male A job which was considered to be for female In the time when genderlink Started In 2008.

My name is zisakana zimba and I’m employed as a room attendant at mphangwe motel and I have worked on this position for 7years now .I normally clean the rooms and make the bed and this was job was considered to be for women in the past and from my job I been able to feed and educate my children and I’m around of it.

Most women are involved in women groups that enable them to have some money to support the family and women continued to encourage each other so that they can share issues that affect them both physically and spiritually. They have proved that they can do it than to depend on men who would at times disappoint them especially when during harvest the men could take advantage of women by eating or misusing all the monies got after selling the products.

The cases of early marriages has reduced as girls are no used for lobols instruments through several sensitasation that have conducted both on radio and support from partner organisations . In fear of being arrested the men reduced GBV and in katete one stop centre has really helped because several cases have been reported on gbv and hence most marriages are now stable .at local level chiefs and headmen have helped doing sensitasations and in most villages most the people are aware of what the law say if they allowed girls to be married at a tender age and during the launching of sixteen days of activism held on 26 November,2016 in chitende were four chiefs attended the ceremony spoke to the community  to stop GBV and early marriages and the hosting chief received the fire to burn that..

As a result of becoming COE, the concept of gender is well understood  and GL can be proud that both men and women not only work hand in hand in this locality but steriotypes are being changed. There is no male job and female job .with all support got from GL trainings there are now few females holding department positions. This can be sustained through conducting more trainings of trainers, as we have new councillors who have recently been elected this year 2016 as well gender champions.