In the serene expanse of Serenje District, nestled in Zambia’s Central Province and adorned with parcels of agricultural land predominantly tended by women, a quiet yet insidious form of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) has been unfurling for years. Here, amidst the ancestral home of the Lala people, the rural women of Serenje confront a harrowing plight – the threat of having their land wrested away, plunging them into economic vulnerability and peril.
The verdant arable lands, lovingly nurtured across generations by these women, have become coveted targets for large-scale land acquisitions under the guise of economic progress. The looming specter of land dispossession not only jeopardizes the women’s means of livelihood but also exposes them to the shadows of economic GBV.
The impact of land dispossession disproportionately weighs upon women. As stewards of subsistence farming and the nourishment of their families, they bear the brunt of this injustice. Forcing them to relocate to inhospitable territories far from their fields and water sources is tantamount to a slow, agonizing sentence. Agricultural yields dwindle, and the expanded distances they traverse to access water render them vulnerable to physical and sexual violence.
The significance of these lands transcends mere sustenance – they embody the cultural and matrilineal heritage of the Lala people. The women’s land is their bastion of wealth, endowing them with a semblance of authority within their communities and fostering economic security. Stripping them of their land equates to eradicating generations of communal existence, where elderly women historically found solace, thrusting them into heightened vulnerability.
Amidst these tumultuous trials, some women in Serenje, bolstered by the Southern Africa Litigation Centre, have mustered the courage to wield legal recourse in defiance of the threats looming over their economic stability. Their resolute stand seeks to challenge the encroachments upon their property rights and confront the egregious violations of their human rights. Their struggle extends beyond mere land ownership – it is a resounding assertion of their entitlement to a life free from violence, even in the cloak of dispossession. Their battle to safeguard their lands mirrors their fervent quest to reclaim their agency and affirm their contributions, illuminating the imperative for unified action against GBV.
As these women forge ahead with their legal odyssey, they carry not only their own aspirations but also the hopes of countless women in analogous predicaments worldwide. Their endeavours serve as a pivotal juncture to cast a spotlight on the oft-overlooked nexus between land dispossession and gender-based violence. Their strife underscores the immutable truth that the pursuit of justice transcends the physical realm, delving deep into the essence of womanhood in rural Zambia. Their resistance resounds the clarion call that there can be #NOEXCUSE, be it driven by economic advancement, that sanctions any form of violence infringing upon the pursuit of a tranquil and prosperous life.
By Emmanuela Sakala – Research Consultant