The women's lobby and gender relations in Zambia

Abstract

The Women's Lobby is one of a number of initiatives which have emerged from within Zambia's civil society in recent years as part of the pluralist momentum toward democratisation and the advance of human rights. Its voice alongside that of the churches, the Law Society and the independent press has advanced pressure for a return to a multi‐party system. It has used the space created to open up a dialogue toward fuller consideration of gender issues. It has also been characteristic of the Zambian experience that the flurry of public debate has primarily involved the more articulate and more privileged members of society. There is obvious intent to mobilise the entire population but the dialogue has beenfostered by the relatively affluent, a pattern no less true of the Women's Lobby than other bodies involved in the public debate. The process has revealed tensions and conflicts at various levels, following in some cases from a reluctance to submit liberal demands to comprehensive analysis and to extend critiques of former practice to their logical conclusions. An examination Of the Women's Lobby reveals some of these dynamics. It has raised gender issues as items for inclusion on the political agenda, and for this alone it represents a significant development. But that positive contribution is no reason it should not be subjected to critical appraisal. The exercise highlights its achievements but also notes contradictions flowing from the unwillingness of its members to acknowledge fully the ‘politics’ implicit in its very existence.