Women, Girls in Zambia “continue to bear the brunt”: Jesuit Scholars on Rising Living Cost

In Zambia, the formal financial inclusion of women has been approximated at 67.9%, compared to that of men that stands at 71.2%, JCTR officials say citing the FinScope 2020 Top Line Findings. 

In cases where women have access to livelihood opportunities, “their engagement with the labor market continues to be restricted by their caring responsibilities which impede their ability for personal development,” the Jesuit scholars lament.

As a result of such restriction, women are “frequently ill-equipped to withstand the high cost of living because they have less financial capacity to afford the basic needs and services required for their well-being,” they further lament. 

The Jesuit scholars say it is unfortunate that while women play an important role in economic development, they face poverty that deters their ability to withstand challenges.

“JCTR believes that embracing equity at all levels of national planning and budgeting is critical in alleviating poverty and arresting the rising cost of living, which disproportionately affects women and girls,” they say. 

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The Jesuit scholars also find it regrettable that women’s representation in parliament and in the cabinet is inadequate, and advocate for change in view of realizing “gender responsive budgeting”.

“It is also critical to address the underlying issues and misconceptions that disadvantage female political actors at the community level,” they say, adding that having more women in decision-making positions “will ensure gender responsive budgeting, which is critical for social justice.”

To achieve such social justice, JCTR officials urge the Zambian government to implement a “gender responsive budgeting”.

Budgeting is important in ensuring that fiscal policy responds to the actual needs of women and girls, they say, and explain that the budgeting can be accomplished “by tackling illicit financial flows that continue to limit government’s ability to implement gender equity and equality programs.” 

The Jesuit scholars say that by dealing with illicit financial flows and ensuring corporations pay their fair share, “more revenue can be salvaged for gender sensitive social sector spending, which is critical for protecting women from economic crises such as a high cost of living.”

They add, “Government, through the Gender Division, must address the political context at lower levels to attend to the numerous issues that make women more disadvantaged candidates than their male counterparts.”

JCTR officials also call on the Zambian government to “address the cost-of-living head on by increasing the minimum wage and increasing social protection allocations.”

“Targeted policies to assist vulnerable populations, including women, are important in cushioning the impact of current economic turmoil,” they further say in their March 7 statement, the eve of the IWD 2023. 

Magdalene Kahiu is a Kenyan journalist with passion in Church communication. She holds a Degree in Social Communications from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA). Currently, she works as a journalist for ACI Africa.