Zambian Women’s Struggle for Political Rights

Abstract

The status of African women has been generally disadvantaged in society. Women have been marginalized and ignored through history due to culture and inequality. The traditional norms of African societies were patriarchal in their nature. They gave favor to men than women in social, economic and political arena. The study is concerned with an examination of the struggle of Zambian women for political right during the period. The study throws light on how the status of women has evolved over time starting with a literature review on the historical background. Then, tackling certain factors which affected their status before and during British colonialism, and denied them equal access to most spheres of life including education, employment and decision-making. Focus will be also on the struggle of women as individual or collective to achieve equality, and their active role and involvement in politics til independence in 1964. This was the time when Nationalist politics took strong hold on the campaign for independence. The aim is to investigate the role of Zambian women in the struggle for freedom, equality and political right.