Gender Profile: Zambia

Transcription

1 General Total male population under 15 (2014) (CIA, 2015): 3,393,388 Total female population under 15 (2014) (CIA, 2015): 3,362,850 Total male population over 15 (2014) (CIA, 2015): 3,921,346 Total female population over 15 (2014) (CIA, 2015): 3,960,921 Health Maternal mortality rate per 100,000 live births (2010) (CIA, 2015): 440 Infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births (2014) (CIA, 2015): Under-five mortality rate for males: NA Under-five mortality rate for females: NA Births attended by a skilled health professional (2007) (WHO, 2014b): 46.5% Prevalence of HIV among males aged (World Economic Forum, 2013): 10.1% Prevalence of HIV among females aged (World Economic Forum, 2013): 15% Life expectancy for men (2012) (WHO, 2014a): 55 Life expectancy for women (2012) (WHO, 2014a): 58 Education Male youth literacy rate, ages (2007) (UNESCO Institute of Statistics, 2015): 70.31% Female youth literacy rate, ages (2007) (UNESCO Institute of Statistics, 2015): 58.48% Male adult literacy rate, ages 15+ (2007) (UNESCO Institute of Statistics, 2015): 71.95% Female adult literacy rate, ages 15+ (2007) (UNESCO Institute of Statistics, 2015): 51.79% Male adjusted net enrolment rate in primary education (2012) (UNESCO Institute of Statistics, 2015): 97.67% April 2015 Page 1 of 5

2 Female adjusted net enrolment rate in primary education (2012) (UNESCO Institute of Statistics, 2015): 98.08% Male gross enrolment ratio in secondary education: NA Female gross enrolment ratio in secondary education: NA Male gross enrolment ratio in tertiary education (2000) (UNESCO Institute of Statistics, 2015): 3.28% Female gross enrolment ratio in tertiary education (2000) (UNESCO Institute of Statistics, 2015): 1.51% Percentage of female graduates from tertiary education: NA Students enrolled in engineering, construction and manufacturing tertiary education programs who are female: NA Teachers in primary education who are female (2012) (UNESCO Institute of Statistics, 2015): 53.1% Teachers in secondary education who are female: NA Teachers in tertiary education who are female: NA Economic Activity Males over 15 who are active in the labour force (United Nations Statistical Commission, 2010): 81% Females over 15 who are active in the labour force (United Nations Statistical Commission, 2010): 61% Men who have an account in a formal financial institution (World Economic Forum, 2013): 19% Women who have an account in a formal financial institution (World Economic Forum, 2013): 23% Decision-Making Proportion of seats held by women in national parliament (World Bank, 2014): 12% Human Rights Girls married before 15 (2014) (Girls Not Brides, 2015): 9% Females married between 15 and 19 (World Economic Forum, 2013): 27% Women subjected to physical/sexual violence by an intimate partner during their lifetime (UN Women, 2012): 49.5% Women subjected to physical/sexual violence by an intimate partner or a non-partner during their lifetime (UN Women, 2012): 51.9% April 2015 Page 2 of 5

3 Gender Gaps Health Women are more vulnerable to HIV infection in Zambia. For example, Women s enews reported in 2011 that Nkandu Luo, a renowned Zambian HIV and AIDS researcher and social activist, says current prevention programming is too general and misses some of the cultural pathways of the epidemic. She says misconceived beliefs such as thinking that having sex with a virgin can cure AIDS must be targeted (Mweetwa, 2011, para. 12). Education Figures from the Central Statistical Office indicate that in 2010, girls were almost twice as likely to drop out of school as boys; the national dropout rates were 1.88% for males and 2.71% for females (Central Statistical Office, 2012, p. 6). The Zambian government reported that in 2013 there were 12,500 pregnancies among primary school pupils and 2,428 in secondary schools.... [O]f these, 4,492 pupils were readmitted at primary school level while 1,337 secondary school learners were readmitted after delivering, representing a re-admission rate of less than 50 per cent (Lusaka Times, 2014). According to Irish Aid (a division of the Irish government s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade), 27% of women in rural areas have no education compared to 18% of males. Pregnancy, early marriage and poverty are intrinsically linked and are the main challenges Zambian girls face in staying in school, particularly in rural areas (Irish Aid, 2015). Economic Figures from 2010 indicate an adult (aged 15 and above) workforce participation rate of 61% for women, compared with 81% for men (United Nations Statistical Commission, 2010, p. 202). A 2013 report issued by the International Labour Office indicated that among Zambian young adults aged 15 29, [y]oung females, in particular, have a harder time finding employment in Zambia. A gap of 9 percentage points exists between the unemployment rate of young women (42.7 per cent) and that of young men (33.8 per cent) ; in addition, 47.2% of young women remain unemployed continuously for more than a year, compared with 35.5% of young men (Chigunta, Chisup, & Elder p. 3). Decision-Making A 2011 report by the UN Human Rights Council found: In October 2009 the Government reported that Parliament had 22 elected female members out of a total of 150. In 2009, at Cabinet level 3 out of 26 portfolios were held by women. At the local government level, out of 1,422 councillors, 94 are women; there are four female town clerks or council secretaries and a handful of heads of department in the 72 councils across the country (UN Human Rights Council, 2011, p. 5). Women s enews interviewed Zambian women who shed light on the barriers that discourage women from entering Zambian politics. One interviewee in 2011 stated: There are women like us who really would love to join politics, but because there is no one to support us, we fail.... I am [illiterate], poor April 2015 Page 3 of 5

4 and, above all, a woman. I don't think anyone would support me (Katongo, 2011, para. 3). According to another interviewee, As women we have been brought up believing that men are our leaders. I don't expect a woman to engage in political issues (para. 13). Human Rights In 2011, the UN Human Rights Council examined domestic violence in Zambia and found: the available official statistics do not appear to reveal the true extent of the problem of domestic violence. In 2009, the Victim Support Unit of the Police Force reported, inter alia, 244 cases of rape, 188 cases of indecent assault, 45 cases of threats of violence, and 53 cases of use of insulting language. Looking closely at the data on rape, for example, the majority of reported cases, i.e. 131 out of the 244 mentioned above, had not reached the court. A number of barriers impede higher rates of reporting of incidents of domestic violence. Women prefer to conciliate with the perpetrator mostly because of family and social pressures and because of economic dependence on the perpetrator. Access to the formal justice system is difficult for a variety of reasons, including the fact that women do not trust the system, as it has failed to hold perpetrators accountable (UN Human Rights Council, 2011, p. 7). One NGO in the Zambian capital, Lusaka, reported in 2006 that each week, it received at least eight young girls who had been raped (IRIN, 2007). References Central Statistical Office [Zambia]. (2012). Gender statistics report Retrieved from Booklet.pdf Chigunta, Francis, Chisup, Ngosa, & Elder, Sara. (2013, November). Labour market transitions of young women and men in Zambia. Geneva, Switzerland: International Labour Office. Retrieved from dgreports/--- dcomm/documents/publication/wcms_ pdf CIA. (2015). The world factbook: Country profiles. Retrieved from Focus on Land in Africa. (2013, September). Protection for women s rights in Zambia. Retrieved from Girls Not Brides. (2015). Child marriage around the world. Retrieved from Gov.UK. (2011, September 19). MDG 2 Universal primary education in Zambia. Retrieved from IRIN. (2007). Zambia: More than 10 girls raped every week. Retrieved from Irish Aid. (2015). Girl s education. Retrieved from April 2015 Page 4 of 5

5 Katongo, Chanda. (2011, December 5). Zambia women carry load of high HIV rates. Women s enews. Retrieved from Lusaka Times. (2014, September 18). Zambia recorded 12,500 pregnancies among primary school pupils last year Phiri. Retrieved from pregnanciesamong-primary-school-pupils-last-year-phiri/ Mweetwa, Dando. (2011, July 20). At 14% Zambia s political women stir controversy. Women s enews. Retrieved from UN Human Rights Council. (2011, May 2). Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Rashida Manjoo Addendum Mission to Zambia, A/HRC/17/26/Add.4. Retrieved from UN Women. (2012). Violence against women prevalence data: Surveys by country. Retrieved from pdf UNESCO Institute of Statistics. (2015). Education. Retrieved from UNICEF. (n.d.) Zambia: Education. Retrieved from UNICEF. (2011). Zambia: HIV and AIDS. Retrieved from United Nations Gender Statistics. (2015). Countries A Z. Retrieved from United Nations Statistical Commission. (2010). Labor force participation, unemployment and economic sector of employment. Retrieved from es%20by%20chapter%20-%20pdf/table4ato4d.pdf World Bank. (2014). Proportion of women holding seats in national parliament. Retrieved from World Economic Forum. (2013). The global gender gap report Retrieved from World Health Organization. (2014a). Life expectancy: Data by country. Retrieved from World Health Organization. (2014b). Women: Data by country. Retrieved from April 2015 Page 5 of 5