IT is not an exaggeration to state that empowering girls and women is the only way through which the women folk can be afforded an opportunity to determine their own future.
Admittedly, women and girls have for a long time been disadvantaged on many fronts, starting from a home setting, a situation which some gender activist have termed as discrimination.
True to this, the manner in which most girl children are socialised in the home settings put them in a disadvantaged position much to the advantage of the boy child.
Further, it is not an exaggeration of fact that girls in most homes are not afforded equal opportunities as compared to their male counterparts.
Girls, for example in homes (more so in the rural setting) are the ones responsible for cooking, drawing of water and looking after the younger ones while their male  counter parts have all the time to
spend on their books.
Agreeably, this situation puts the girl child in a disadvantaged position from an early stage in life.
It is against, this back ground that in most cases girl children especially in the rural areas either drop out of school or do not really perform well in school as they should.
Admittedly, this is not to say the situation does affect some of the girl children in the urban areas as well.
Surly, it is this kind of scenario that makes it so hard for girls to determine their own future.
The dreams of many girls are shattered an early stage because of what they go through while their male counter parts have the opportunity to choose whether to become that engineer or pilot.
Boys it cannot be disputed, determine their future to become that person they want because of the opportunities they are afforded from a tender age which is the opposite in cases of women.
In fact, the blame is usually heaped on the girl children for not performing or being good at mathematics or sciences for example.
But the question parents and guardians forget to ask themselves is whether that girl child has been afforded the chance to do her work as compared to their brothers (more so in the rural settings).
In essence, what is true is that there no level playing field, with regard to girls, in fact in most cases they are on the receiving end.
True to this, it is this state of affairs that has adversely affected the girl child and the women folk at large.
Agreeably, they are affected in a numbers of areas be it academically, socially, politically, economically and many other aspects of life.
In fact, women until recently where made to believe that they are best suited in the kitchen and not the outside world.
A few women who defied all odds and made their way to the out side world during those days surly have a story to tell on how they faced so many obstacles and challenges.
It is for these and many other reasons that have not been discussed on this column that have disadvantaged a number of Zambian women in a number of ways.
Really, a number of women today find themselves in very awkward situation not because of any thing but because the level playing field has never been level from time immemorial.
It is in this regard, that the call by the First Lady Dr Christine Kaseba on the Bank of Zambia (BOZ) to ensure that commercial Banks in Zambia consider giving women loans without collateral is timely.
Agreeably, there is need to put in place affirmative actions in a number of area to uplift and empower women who have been disadvantaged for a long time.
Most women, as Dr Kaseba put it are not able to access loans because they do not have collateral.
The first lady has indeed hit the nail on the head because surely there is no way in which most of the women would have collateral today when it is the very women in this country that have for a long time
lived in the shadow of men.
What is on the ground and true, as the Minister of Gender and Child development Inonge Wina stated, is that women in Zambia are still in the bracket of the most vulnerable and poorest.
Agreeably, the only way to reverse the situation is by affirmative action to empower women.
Really, if women are empowered as the old adage goes “when you educate a women you educate a nation” this country will surly be a better one.
In fact Zambia will not be what it is today, if the playing field from the very beginning had been level for both women and men.
However, what is more encouraging I must state, is that despite what women have going through and are still going through they are still committed to their families and still play a big role in their communities.
It is in this regard that I take this opportunity to salute the women folk for they have proved to be survivors even in hard times.
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