Q FM Africa's Modern Radio
Chief and Traditional Affairs Deputy Minister John Kufuna
Government says inhibiting practices and traditions relating to land have disadvantaged women from owning and having control over land in the country.
Chiefs and Traditional affairs Deputy Minister John Kufuna says these practices and traditions have failed to recognize the role access to land plays in women’s economic empowerment especially in rural areas where it is the basis for food production and income generation.
Speaking during the launch of the women’s land rights report dubbed Women’s Land Rights are Human Rights, Mr. Kufuna has noted that most cultural norms and practices in both patrilineal and matrilineal systems in Zambian communities rarely support the view that women should own and control land in their own right.
He says the ministry recognizes that sustainable development can only be attained if all sections of society are treated equally and given equal opportunity to productive resources such as land.
Mr. Kufuna says government will continue to partner with organizations such as ‘Women for Change and We Effect’ to address cultural practices and policies that inhibit women’s rights to access land.
And Chief Chikanta of Southern Province says he has adopted a system were land is allocated to families as opposed to individuals.
He explains this is in order that even in the event that a husband dies, the widow will still remain with the family land.
Chief Chikanta says he has to this effect provided land certificates to more than 200 households in his chiefdom which bear the names of husbands and wives.
And Chief Ndake of Nyimba district says he has issued 360 land certificates of which 250 are for Males and 110 for female in his chiefdom.
Speaking at the same event, Women for Change Vice Chairperson James Chirwa says the report is a timely reminder for the country to take the necessary measures to address the inequality that is causing a lot of women and children to wallow in poverty.
Mr. Chirwa has commended the Chiefs for indentifying the customary practices and beliefs that promote and inhibit women’s ownership and control over land.
He notes that in most cultures, widowed women rarely inherit land from their late husband’s and that their rights to joint ownership of marital property are not recognized.