By CHARITY MOONGA –

FORMER Zambian ambassador to the United States of America Inonge Mbikusita Lewanika has said that the introduction of the Grade 12 requirement clause in the amended national Constitution will work against women participation in the forth-coming general and presidential elections.
Clause 162 of the amended Constitution states that a person qualifies to be elected as a councillor or MP if that person is not less than 19 years of age and has obtained a minimum academic qualification of a Grade 12 certificate or its equivalent.
Dr Lewanika said in an interview in Lusaka that many women in Zambia were left out of school, especially in rural areas from Grade 4 to University entrance.
She said women have been staying at home taking care of families and fearing to neglect them, so the clause to bar them from standing due to not having attained Grade 12 will be unfair.
“The first administration did very well and ensured more and more women were educated, but now, most women are staying home to avoid neglecting their families so they do not get to reach Grade 12,” she said.
She called on Government to consider the General Education Development (GED) test qualification as equivalent to the Grade 12 certification to ensure more women participate in elections.
Dr Lewanika explained that the political field, education and income problems always worked against the women during elections.
She said Government should start with ensuring that the education curriculum is regionalised and made more practical to accommodate people from all areas of society.
“Start with education and make sure that enterprise is promoted, God made each one of us differently,” she said.
Women in Law in Southern Africa  (WLSA) coordinator and Gender activist Gladys Mutukwa said that the political field was currently not level for the women and the Grade 12 requirement for candidacy would make it difficult for the women to participate.
“How are we going to balance the leadership of the country because there are not enough women in Grade 12,” she said.
She said the clause was discriminatory and gender blind.
Mrs Mutukwa called for the Proportional Representation system of Government, saying that would ensure equal representation of all sections of society.
“We need the Government to build capacity for women and then assist expose them to leadership skills,” she said.
She said it was important to realise that there was no part of humanity that could go far without the other, hence the importance to incorporate women in the development agenda.