Scores of women and men yesterday protested over government’s delay in adopting the National Gender Policy. The crowd stormed the grounds of the Embassy Park near Cabinet Office in Zambia’s capital city, Lusaka, as early as 08:00 hours.

The men and women, about a hundred in total, were representatives of various Non-Governmental Organisations’ Coordinating Committee (NGOCC) affiliates and Femnet. Some women also joined the campaign in their individual capacities.

NGOCC has for a long time now been lobbying for the adoption of the policy through visits to the Minister without portfolio, Michael Sata, the minister assigned to spearhead the formulation and adoption of the National Gender Policy.

The organisation has written to President Frederick Chiluba, requesting to meet him over the gender policy. It has also urged government to adopt the policy at several public fora. All these efforts having proved fruitless, NGOCC was prompted to resort to picketing Cabinet Office.

Unfortunately, the police refused to grant NGOCC a permit to carry out the activity, saying they first needed permission from Cabinet Office to picket there. The police permit was finally issued on Wednesday (November 3) after NGOCC agreed to change the venue of the picketing to Embassy Park, situated just opposite Cabinet Office.

The protesters carried placards, some of which carried messages reading:

· Gender policy before Addis
· Signatory to SADC Gender Declaration, but no own policy. SHAME!
· Gender Policy is development. Don’t sit on it
· Gender Policy now!
· Draft policy for how long? 20 years?

Government has been holding consultative meetings on the draft National Gender Policy since 1995, the last having been a national symposium in December 1998. At the symposium, Mr Sata made an undertaking that the policy would be adopted within the first quarter of this year. NGOCC has vowed to continue pressurising government to adopt the gender policy and intends to discuss this even at the forthcoming review meeting in Addis Ababa.

Contact Details:
NGO Coordinating Committee
Plot
Lubu Road
PO Box 37879
LUSAKA
ZAMBIA
Tel: 260-1-253203
Fax: 260-1-251304
Email: ngocc@zamnet.zm