MARCH 13, 2025
MONICA KAYOMBO, Lusaka
EUROPEAN Union (EU) in Zambia says it will continue to prioritize gender equality and women’s empowerment throughout its programmes including private sector development; agriculture,democratic governance, sustainable energy; and infrastructure programmes.
EU Ambassador to Zambia Karolina Stasiak recently disclosed this in Lusaka during the closure of the Count Me In campaign.She said this year, the EU would be signing contracts worth over EUR 6 million to support targeted
Women’s empowerment initiatives.
“We will support adolescent girls with their sexual and reproductive health rights; provide access to vocational skills and support for vulnerable young women at risk of early pregnancies. We have also launched a project to support female entrepreneurs in 8 of Lusaka’s compounds, helping them to establish and sustain profitable businesses that leverage access to electricity,’’ she emphasized.
She explained that the ‘Count Me In’ Campaign run for a full year, providing a platform for female and young voices in Zambia.“The campaign has worked to empower women and young people and highlight theEU’s commitment to their inclusion.
The Ambassador named key activities of the Count Me in Campaign included the successful Women in Diplomacy Day with some of Zambia’s best and brightest students studying diplomacy, as well as leading diplomats from Zambia and the diplomatic community.
Other activities involved the production of a three part podcast series which discussed key issuesaffecting women and young people including sexual and gender based violence.The ‘our Hero Stories’ covered the most recent production, putting the spotlight on womenwho are doing phenomenal work in traditionally male dominated fields.
She said the ladies that were drawn from the engineering, construction and other sectors worked hard, broke barriers, and are ready for more. She said the EU believes that campaigns like Count Me In, that work to empower women and young people, are very important for various reasons.
She said both Europe and Zambia still have a long way to go to achieve gender equity and equality. Ms Ms Stasiak said the existing challenges like sexual and gender-based violence remain a serious concern. “We also face new challenges, like cyber bullying that is proliferating globally, with devastating individual, social and economic impacts on survivors and their families. This includes online misogynistic hate speech where research has found that posts targeting women tend to be more violent than those targeting other groups, often involving explicit language to threaten women with sexual violence,’’ she said.
She said the above mentioned factors have a direct consequence is the silencing of women online, that has wide ranging effects, including creating an even more hostile environment for women who aspire to lead and become public figures.
In Zambia, female representation in parliament sits at only 15%. This is 10% lower than the average, in Sub-Saharan Africa. Women also only make up 27% of the labour force.
Positively, Zambia managed to increase women’s financial inclusion, including access to financial services, from 57.4 % in 2015 to 67.9% in 2020.She said it is important that we all work to continue this progress, as financial inclusion is a central driver of economic growth and sustainable development.
Zambia’s youth, who make up 26.7% of the national population, also face multiple challenges. This includes a high unemployment rate at 17% and in addition, a staggering 57.8% of youth headed households live in poverty.
While the Count Me in Campaign came to a close, the EU insists that it will not stop the efforts toempower women and young people.“The EU is committed to putting “our money where our mouth is” to overcome inequalities,’’ she said
