Category: Uncategorized

“We have cut through the barriers! We finally have more women in the Mukungule CRB,” was Nancy Mutemba’s reaction to the latest CRB election results. Nancy is the Community Liaison Assistant (CLA) and Gender Focal Person for Frankfurt Zoological Society and was among the seven CLAs who spent days prior to the election in the field speaking to traditional leaders, community members, and potential women candidates willing to risk everything to break through the cultural and gender norms that bar women from taking up leadership positions.

“The challenge is all about power and control, putting a woman in leadership means taking over control from a man. Tradition does not allow that; many men don’t want it, and women believe it shouldn’t happen,” Nancy explains.

USAID’s partners trained the CLAs to equip them with practical skills on how to facilitate conversations on gender norms and gender equality and convince communities to support aspiring women. Nancy, like other CLAs, was initially skeptical about the activities and what could be achieved.

“It seemed a difficult task to convince headpersons and women to do something that they did not believe in, and I was scared to preach to them something that seems to go against their culture. I worried about how they would receive the message and how it was going to impact our relationship going forward.”

The CLAs like Nancy work and live in the communities and are known and trusted members. Young women like Nancy are not only trusted but are seen as courageous and an inspiration to many other women.

“They see me going village to village on a motorbike and facilitating meetings, and they think I am extraordinary. I know women look up to me for knowledge and advice, and this gives me strength to do my best.”

This relationship is what makes the work of CLAs so critical. They are listened to and can influence change. Armed with information and tools, Nancy set out on a task to lobby traditional leaders in Mukungule Chiefdom to support women as leaders in the CRB while also convincing women in the community to step into leadership roles. As per tradition, the approach must first go through the Chief, and then the headpersons, who are mostly men. The support of traditional leaders encouraged CLAs like Nancy, and made it easier to deliver these messages to the community members.

“I was surprised that the traditional leaders were ready for this change. Sometimes it was the headmen who answered the difficult questions. I did not have to provide all the answers myself and in the end some women were convinced and came forward.”

The CLAs also prepared women to go through the election process, which required Nancy to inspire the women to see themselves as leaders, be confident, and develop self-esteem and resilience. For Nancy, seeing aspiring women candidates drop out of the electoral process was not an option. “I had to inspire positivity, get in their shoes, and rise up with them, and it worked, not a single woman dropped off,” she said happily.

Nancy’s hard work in the community paid off: in Mukungule CRB, women in leadership roles increased by 40%, and by overcoming cultural barriers, women are now being drafted into the committees that form customary leadership within the tribal governance structures.

“On election day, I believed I could win but also doubted that my community would choose me over a man.”-Harriet Mupeta, Mukungule CRB Board Secretary

Harriet entered the community leadership scene through the Village Action Group (VAG) election. In order to be eligible to join the CRB a candidate, one must first be elected to a local-level Village Action Group. In October 2020, she won the Mwansabamba VAG election in a landslide and became the VAG Chairperson. In November, she was elected as the CRB Board Secretary for Mukungule CRB. Like many women of her community, she never thought of herself as a community leader who could represent the interests of others, but all that changed when the Community Liaison Assistant (CLA) went to her community to talk about gender equality and women’s rights.

“Before the meeting I knew very little about the role of the CRBs and that as a woman I could be involved. When I heard that Chief Mukungule was asking women to join the CRB, I decided to try because I knew the Chief’s word is respected.”

To encourage women to participate in community governance of their resources, USAID partners worked with traditional leaders and community members prior to the elections to break through gender barriers and promote acceptance of women’s role in leadership. Seven women in the VAG were mobilized and given information about community resource management and training on skills to go through the election process.

A housewife, Harriet said, “I was worried about my husband’s and my relatives’ reaction, but after negotiating with them they supported me. It was the other men in the community that gave me a hard time. They kept passing offensive comments like I was not capable and wouldn’t get anywhere.”

The skills training focused on working with women candidates on negotiation and communication skills, self-confidence, public speaking, campaign strategies, and networking. Most of the women that won the election did not have the financial resources to campaign but relied on family connections and their reputation in the community. Women were often seen as willing to serve in positions of leadership for the greater good, whereas men were perceived as pursuing their own interests and benefits.

“At first, I used to be affected by the mockery of men, but one day after a meeting, a group of women who witnessed one of the incidents told me that I was kind and loved by people and that they would support me to win. That changed everything for me!

When asked what winning the CRB elections means to her, Harriet said; “It’s a new world for me, I feel happy, confident, and motivated! I work within this big organization and speak for people. I am showing my community what I can do and how I can build positive relationships. I have become capable!”

Despite major advances, not all female candidates succeeded. In the Nabwalya CRB, despite spending days walking on foot to convince people to vote for her after her election to her Village Action Group, Catherine Chatata finished third at a local level and did not advance to the CRB.

Catherine came into the race with little more than her reputation, and it was not enough to earn her a seat on the Nabwalya CRB.

External factors, such as a funeral, also affected her campaign. As a woman, she was expected to play a role such as cooking and cleaning at the funeral house and sit and mourn with the bereaved family instead of campaigning. As a result, she could not reach some neighboring villages for her campaign.

Despite missing the top slot to represent her community, Catherine was happy and confident about her future role in leadership.

“I now believe that even as a woman who has no money for campaigning, I can be voted for. I will work even harder to convince people in the next round of elections and my achievements in the VAG will campaign for me.”

CRB elections are held every three years. The competition is stiff and often marred with malpractice which makes it very costly for women like Catherine who have few resources. These practices provide an advantage to those with financial resources, who are mostly men. The process  also has  the potential to encourage corruption in the CRB since candidates who spend a considerable amount of money during campaigns might feel encouraged to recover such expenses when in office. 

“People were demanding food and drinks and even money. Whenever you call for a meeting they would ask, what have you brought for us? Even children wanted sweets and biscuits! They wanted to know the kind of after party I would throw for them if I won,” she said. 

Like in many chiefdoms across Zambia, tradition dictates that family care corresponds to women leadership corresponds to men. As a result, men dominate both the household and community-level decision making when it comes to natural resources. In Chikwa, however, the Chief sees a role for women in natural resource management as a way to advance development in his chiefdom. He is willing to challenge traditions in order to secure opportunities for women leaders.

As the patron of the Chikwa CRB and Chief of the Senga people in Chama District, he takes his role seriously and has committed to promoting gender equality. Prior to the CRB election, Chief Chikwa implemented an affirmative action measure requiring 50% women representation in all governance structures in his chiefdom.

“Our history and our tradition are not without women. Women have held honorable positions in our tradition system, including that of a chief; before me there were women. Discriminating against women is not from our tradition but individual selfishness. Women deserve to be leaders of our communities,” he says.

Agnes got the highest number of votes in her VAG and was elected CRB Chairperson. This is not Agnes’ first term on the board, she served before as Finance Management Committee Secretary on the previous CRB Board and understands the challenges that women leaders face in her community.

“Men want to lead over you and find it difficult to respect women in top positions. If not careful, you spend time dealing with unnecessary conflicts rather than serving the people. I just have to be tactical to maintain unity,” she says.

Following the elections, Agnes attended the CRB orientation training that offered skills in gender responsive approaches for conducting CRB business. The training also involved spouses of elected female CRB members to increase their understanding of roles and the responsibilities, including time commitment.

“The orientation helped a lot and we are building on it in our quarterly meetings. The affirmative action measures are forcing us to talk about gender more, and everyone is beginning to appreciate women’s leadership and becoming positive about it,” she explains.

With the elections out of the way, the Chikwa CRB is set to deliver on its mandate. Agnes feels confident about her new role and has many plans to transform the lives of community members, especially women.

Chikwa CRB has a rolling plan and receives community share of hunting revenues from the government. The lack of transparency and accountability in the management of these resources was a big campaign issue that helped her to get elected, since women are frequently seen as less corrupt.

The USAID-funded Artisanal Mining and Property Rights (AMPR) project has sensitized over 1,243 (including 266 women) artisanal miners and mine site owners on how to officially become artisanal miners according to Central African law. AMPR Community Development Specialists and Community Mobilizers conducted the sensitization sessions jointly with Regional Officers from the Ministry of Mines and Geology and members of the Local Peace and Reconciliation Committees that AMPR supported the creation of in partnership with the Ministry of Humanitarian Action and National Reconciliation. The teams held focus group discussions in 63 mining communities in the Kimberley Process compliant zones of Berberati, Boda, Boganda, Carnot, Gadzi, and Nola, using a training poster and corresponding guide developed by AMPR. 400 posters titled How to Become an Artisanal Miner in Accordance with the Law were displayed at the Regional Mining Departments, town halls, markets, and mine sites in the six compliant zones.

In May 2019, AMPR conducted a Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices (KAP) study involving 341 artisanal miners. The results revealed that only 4% (n = 341) knew the right price to obtain a license to become an artisanal miner. Some explained that they had paid more than the official price due to lack of knowledge. Others paid inflated sums to their peers to obtain the licenses since they were not aware of the formalities. On this basis, AMPR set out to produce poster and discussion guides with questions and awareness-raising messages inclusive of all points in the supply chain, such as government actors, buying houses, collectors, pit owners, and artisanal miners.

These trainings enlightened the mining communities on how, when, and where to obtain an artisanal mining license and encouraged artisanal miners to pay their licenses as required by the law without exploitation by intermediaries who drive up the price. AMPR will conduct a second KAP in Q2 of 2021 to determine whether awareness of artisanal miners about this and other laws has increased since the previous survey.