Govt to empower women with land, says Kapata

By Ann Zulu

GOVERNMENT is committed to empowering women through land, as most women in Zambia still don’t have secure access and control over land, Lands Minister Jean Kapata has said.

Lands Minister Jean Kapata 

Ms. Kapata said Government was aware of the fact that majority of women in the country especially in rural areas did not have access to land.

She, however, noted this might soon be a thing of the past as Government would give priority of land acquisition to women.

She said the Patriotic Front (PF) government under President Edgar Lungu’s administration was devoted to its promise of ensuring that 40% of women had access to land.

 “Access to land still remains a challenge to women, but that will no longer continue because the PF government under the leadership of President Lungu is determined to empower women with land and ensure that they have access to it just like the men.  We are more interested in empowerment and attainment of gender equality as a prerequisite for attainment of sustainable socio-economic development of the country.

“In Zambia, only about 20% of women have secure access to land, but as Government, we will make sure that at least 40% of land in the country goes to the women,” Ms. Kapata said.

She observed that having secure access to land would help to empower women, both individually and collectively.

Ms. Kapata stressed that women were also entitled to land, saying that Government would ensure that women’s rights such as to land were protected and promoted.

She said affirmative programmes to support women’s access to land administration services were underway.

Ms. Kapata said land was a form of security and collateral for women, building women’s resilience and food security, as well as their social status and dignity.

“Access to land means that women will have access to financial assets, including credit and saving, and also reduce the poverty levels in Zambia because poverty has a feminine face. So we will ensure that women’s rights to land are protected and promoted,” she said.