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Growing up in a family of politicians politics has always been part of Elisabeth’s life. During the struggle for independence, her parents were jailed. Even Elisabeth and her siblings, only children at that time, were put in prison. “It has really affected me. Even me I cannot live without politics.” Joining her first political party in her twenties, Elisabeth has been in the political scene for over 30 years, and since 2011 she has been a councilor. That was also the time when she was first connected to Gender Links, something she is very grateful for. “A lot of people coming from Gender Links have been my role models, especially Faides.”
Talking about role models, everyone that I have talked to describe Mulenga as a role model herself. Elisabeth finished school when she had children, but went back again a few years later and educated herself as a teacher and has since made herself a career that many would envy. By sharing her own experiences and struggles in life with the people in her ward, she has been able to inspire and encourage many people in her ward, especially other women that look up to her. “It’s not the end that you are a housewife, it’s not the end that you are pregnant, it’s not the end that your are divorced, it’s not the end that you are a widow, you can still make it. You can become a doctor as a woman, a businessman as a woman, a politician as a woman. What a man can do, you can also do it”.
Elisabeth is active in mobilizing women in her ward to form groups that can apply for grants to start small businesses. She can see a big change in those women’s lives. “This helps them educate their children, feed everyone at home, and with the money they can continue their business.” In the ward development communities, she makes sure that the policy of having 50 % women is observed. “They are supposed to be 12, and the policy is that 6 should be women and 6 should be men.” Gender Links has been meant a lot for her work in the ward. “Since 2011 I have been with Gender Links, and they have inspired me so much. Whatever I learn from Gender Links I will bring with me out to the ward.”
The Gender Focal Point in Luanshya, Mavis Kabwe, enjoys working hand in hand with Elisabeth and describes her as the bridge between the people and the council. “Our gender champion, first of all, she herself is a very hard working women, and that quality is an inspiration to myself as the GFP, the committee, the councillors as well as the people in her ward. Two, she is very instrumental in reaching out to the women in her ward, saying that they are the most vulnerable. For example, when we have projects in the council she will more than often submit names of women in her ward to take up certain jobs, like grass cutting or even construction work. She also holds community meetings to strengthen and encourage them.”
The council is running a literacy project for adult women who are taken back to school, which Elisabeth has been involved in as a teacher. She can see the impact it has made in many women’s lives. “Some of them have become nurses and teachers, they were only housewives before.” Percy Mulenda is one of those who was encouraged by Elisabeth to go back to school, and today she is working as a teacher at a private school and doing her primary diploma at the university. “Elisabeth is a hard working woman who doesn’t like sitting around and doing nothing. Every time you meet her, she encourages you to go another step with your life. She encouraged me to push myself into education, and to do a lot of activities. I went to college 2008, and now I’m a teacher. My dream I to run a private school, to reduce illiteracy levels among women.”
Elisabeth has always been advocating women’s rights but it wasn’t until she was connected to Gender Links that she realized that gender also includes men. Thanks to Gender Links she also gained more knowledge about the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development. A challenge she sees is the lack of awareness of the protocol in communities. “Things are happening in our country but it is not shared down with the people. They have signed this protocol, it’s a law, and they have not even domesticated it.” As a teacher, her recommendation to Gender Links is not only to concentrate on councils, but also on the schools. She believes that if gender was added to the curriculum, boys and girls would grow up as equals.
At home, Elisabeth has always tried to treat her children as equals regardless their sex.
“I’m a mother of six, and I’ve only got one girl. If a son comes home and if it’s time to cook I will just say go and cook, if it’s time for washing I will just say go and wash, or go and do the cleaning. What a girl can do he can also do. The other thing is that the boys get married quickly because they need a helper in the house. I tell my son that he should be rushed to get married just to have someone cooking for him.” Her son, Larkson Chibesa can verify that, “There is no way this is for women and this is for men.” When he went to university he noticed that many of his male classmates had difficulties staying on their own. “Since I have been brought up learning how to clean and cook I have don’t have a problem. I was trained by my mum to handle such situations.”
For the future, Elisabeth is hoping to become a mayor in the Copperbelt province. “I have really been born a leader. In every situation I become leader in church, in public places, in the market, in whatever organization. When I become a mayor, I will be in charge of all the mayors and will become role model for many women. In the Copperbelt, there have never been so many female mayors. I want to make sure that the policies of the councils are changed and that the goal of 50/50 is achieved.”
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