Sandra Chansa (not real name) is well known for her skills in hair plaiting. She did not complete her primary education as she lost both parents at a very tender age. She ventured into hair plaiting from as early as 13 year. 10 years down the line, she is what the local neighborhood calls the hair plaiting machine because of her skills.
Recently Sandra had an offer to travel to neighboring South Africa and is excited about it because a Zambian lady living in that country who heard about Sandra’s skills has offered her a job in her hair salon and free accommodation for the first five months.
For Sandra this offer could not have come at a better time when women are celebrating the International Womens Day (IWD) which falls on March 8 every year, this is a day that is celebrated world wide when women take stoke and reflect on their achievements and address issues that concern them.
What Sandra does not know is that the woman who has promised her a job is one that has been rumored to be one of the master minds of trafficking young girls from Zambia to these neighbouring countries.
Human trafficking is one issue that most African governments are still struggling to address. The cases are on the increase in Africa, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
This year’s theme, Equal Rights Equal Opportunities, Progress for All, will be worth thinking about for these vulnerable women and girls; especially those who from the larger percentage have endured suffering for along time. There is need to call for the enactment of a law that would see offenders or traffickers face stiffer punishment.
“Statistics carried out show that of the total number of respondents in 15 towns in 6 border areas, 15 percent of victims came from Lusaka and were trafficked out of Zambia to other countries especially to Europe,” says IOM’s Counter Trafficking and Research Officer- Zambia, Annie Lane.
The study- Human trafficking in Eastern Africa, initially done in Eastern Africa by IOM, with title: Research, assessment and baseline information in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Burundi, focused on factors facilitating human trafficking within the region, means and purposes of trafficking as well as the health conditions of trafficked persons.
The study finds that an individual’s likelihood of being trafficked is determined by gender, socio-economic status and personal aspirations.
Zambia has not been an exception with this scourge, many young victims have been ferried to different countries basically in the name of working but in real sense they are taken to the sex tourism industry, forced labour and child prostitution, says Lane.
She adds that Zambian women are always lured by false marriages and employment and are ferried to either neighbouring countries like South Africa or to Europe. She also names debt bondage where a victim is required to pay back for all expenses and accommodation by either working for the traffickers or in a company that pays direct to the trafficker.
"Family factors such as family size, death of one or both parents and divorce are considered to be potentially relevant factors, as are community characteristics such as access to services, employment or education and training opportunities", the study says, noting that the demand for labour mainly in the agricultural and mining sectors has been a major contributing factor, as has been demand for sex and domestic workers. The study also finds that the region is affected by both internal and international trafficking for purposes of military service, forced marriage and rituals. Women and children are the most affected groups.
According to Alice Kimani, IOM’s counter trafficking programme officer in Kenya who was involved in the study, cases of human trafficking are cross cutting within the region, with the demand for cheap labour and sexual services being a major driving force. She says a large number of the trafficked victims are the women.
Meanwhile, Lane says that trafficking starts with recruitment followed by transportation of victims and ends with exploitation. She however admits that they have had problems detecting internal trafficking which takes place within the country than international which may easily be detect at the borders.
She regrets of the many adverts encouraging human trafficking on newspapers, posters and the internet and calls on editors to be screening such.
An anti-trafficking law and national policy was in 2007 finalized by the government inter agency committee on trafficking and presented to the Zambian Law Development Commission for review. At least 38 suspected cases had been investigated and found to be at border crossings, which enabled them to distinguish from smuggling.
Lane says most rescued victims are always referred to IOM or other related NGOs for assistance. Others include International Labour Organization (ILO) and United Nations, Children Education Fund (UNICEF), as government may not be in a position to identify victims on its own and prosecute them.
Despite increased trafficking, all is not lost. It is noteworthy that Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania have Draft Bills that spell out stiffer penalties to deter offenders. In Kenya, the Bill has been drafted in tandem with the United Nation (UN) Convention on Transnational Organised Crime and the UN Protocol to punish and suppress trafficking especially of women and children. Kenya is a signatory to both the protocols, which spell out, among others, heavy reparations to be paid to the victims by the traffickers.
Zambia also prohibits human trafficking through a 2005 amendment to its penal code, which prescribes penalties of 20 years' to life imprisonment—penalties that are commensurate with those prescribed for other grave crimes. The statute does not, however, define trafficking or set out the elements of the offense, and has been interpreted thus far as applying narrowly to only the explicit sale of a person
According to a June 2008 report on Trafficking in Persons carried by the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, US Department of State, Diplomat in Action, Zambia is a transit point for regional trafficking of women and children, particularly from Angola to Namibia for agricultural labor and from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to South Africa. Malawian and Mozambican adults and children are occasionally trafficked to Zambia for forced agricultural labour.
The report recommended that Zambia should pass and enact the draft comprehensive anti-trafficking law; formalize and implement victim identification and referral procedures; and increase anti-human trafficking public awareness, particularly among government officials.
Lane says the organization (IOM) has been training communities about trafficking and how to detect traffickers. This they have done through sensitization and some messages have been translated in the local languages to enable the communities understand.
“In Zambia we have messages translated in Nyanja and Bemba while other countries have Kiswahili and French,” She says.
The organization has also managed to train at least 700 police and immigration officers at the border areas between 2006- 2010, to enable them detect the vice.
This shows how the trafficking menace especially of women is deeply rooted in the African countries. And the women to progress as the men, all sectors must join hands to fight it and rescue both the victims.
Zambia has been at the far front championing for the rights of women and the women organizations petitioned the government to make the International Women’s Day a public holiday so that they are able to pass home the message to all individuals.
Some of the activities lined up during this year’s International Women’s day celebrations in Zambia included a march by participants from Munali high School to the venue (Mulungushi International Conference Centre), speeches from the Vice President George Kunda, who said the Government was showing commitment to ensure gender equity and equality in all sectors.
Others were Non-Governmental Organizations coordinating council board chair person, Marian Munyinda who appealed for practical and deliberate legal framework to be put in place to improve the status of women in the country.
She called for honoring of women who have distinguished themselves in different fields during ceremonies such as the investiture ceremony that the government conducts during Independence Day celebrations.
International Women’s day was declared a public holiday following petitions from the women to the late and former president Levy Mwanawasa, who declared it a public holiday in 2008 but was effected in 2009’s celebration.
The below facts are worth noting on women in Sub-Saharan Africa (Sources: The Hunger Project, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/Aids (UNAIDS), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA);
Women are responsible for 70 to 80 percent of household food production
Women are responsible for obtaining 90 percent of the water, wood and fuel
55 percent of primary students not enrolled in schools are girls
Nearly twice as many women over age 15 are illiterate compared to men
Women are 1.6 times more likely to be infected by HIV/Aids than men.
77 percent of all HIV/AIDS positive women live in sub-Saharan Africa.
Recently Sandra had an offer to travel to neighboring South Africa and is excited about it because a Zambian lady living in that country who heard about Sandra’s skills has offered her a job in her hair salon and free accommodation for the first five months.
For Sandra this offer could not have come at a better time when women are celebrating the International Womens Day (IWD) which falls on March 8 every year, this is a day that is celebrated world wide when women take stoke and reflect on their achievements and address issues that concern them.
What Sandra does not know is that the woman who has promised her a job is one that has been rumored to be one of the master minds of trafficking young girls from Zambia to these neighbouring countries.
Human trafficking is one issue that most African governments are still struggling to address. The cases are on the increase in Africa, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
This year’s theme, Equal Rights Equal Opportunities, Progress for All, will be worth thinking about for these vulnerable women and girls; especially those who from the larger percentage have endured suffering for along time. There is need to call for the enactment of a law that would see offenders or traffickers face stiffer punishment.
“Statistics carried out show that of the total number of respondents in 15 towns in 6 border areas, 15 percent of victims came from Lusaka and were trafficked out of Zambia to other countries especially to Europe,” says IOM’s Counter Trafficking and Research Officer- Zambia, Annie Lane.
The study- Human trafficking in Eastern Africa, initially done in Eastern Africa by IOM, with title: Research, assessment and baseline information in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Burundi, focused on factors facilitating human trafficking within the region, means and purposes of trafficking as well as the health conditions of trafficked persons.
The study finds that an individual’s likelihood of being trafficked is determined by gender, socio-economic status and personal aspirations.
Zambia has not been an exception with this scourge, many young victims have been ferried to different countries basically in the name of working but in real sense they are taken to the sex tourism industry, forced labour and child prostitution, says Lane.
She adds that Zambian women are always lured by false marriages and employment and are ferried to either neighbouring countries like South Africa or to Europe. She also names debt bondage where a victim is required to pay back for all expenses and accommodation by either working for the traffickers or in a company that pays direct to the trafficker.
"Family factors such as family size, death of one or both parents and divorce are considered to be potentially relevant factors, as are community characteristics such as access to services, employment or education and training opportunities", the study says, noting that the demand for labour mainly in the agricultural and mining sectors has been a major contributing factor, as has been demand for sex and domestic workers. The study also finds that the region is affected by both internal and international trafficking for purposes of military service, forced marriage and rituals. Women and children are the most affected groups.
According to Alice Kimani, IOM’s counter trafficking programme officer in Kenya who was involved in the study, cases of human trafficking are cross cutting within the region, with the demand for cheap labour and sexual services being a major driving force. She says a large number of the trafficked victims are the women.
Meanwhile, Lane says that trafficking starts with recruitment followed by transportation of victims and ends with exploitation. She however admits that they have had problems detecting internal trafficking which takes place within the country than international which may easily be detect at the borders.
She regrets of the many adverts encouraging human trafficking on newspapers, posters and the internet and calls on editors to be screening such.
An anti-trafficking law and national policy was in 2007 finalized by the government inter agency committee on trafficking and presented to the Zambian Law Development Commission for review. At least 38 suspected cases had been investigated and found to be at border crossings, which enabled them to distinguish from smuggling.
Lane says most rescued victims are always referred to IOM or other related NGOs for assistance. Others include International Labour Organization (ILO) and United Nations, Children Education Fund (UNICEF), as government may not be in a position to identify victims on its own and prosecute them.
Despite increased trafficking, all is not lost. It is noteworthy that Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania have Draft Bills that spell out stiffer penalties to deter offenders. In Kenya, the Bill has been drafted in tandem with the United Nation (UN) Convention on Transnational Organised Crime and the UN Protocol to punish and suppress trafficking especially of women and children. Kenya is a signatory to both the protocols, which spell out, among others, heavy reparations to be paid to the victims by the traffickers.
Zambia also prohibits human trafficking through a 2005 amendment to its penal code, which prescribes penalties of 20 years' to life imprisonment—penalties that are commensurate with those prescribed for other grave crimes. The statute does not, however, define trafficking or set out the elements of the offense, and has been interpreted thus far as applying narrowly to only the explicit sale of a person
According to a June 2008 report on Trafficking in Persons carried by the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, US Department of State, Diplomat in Action, Zambia is a transit point for regional trafficking of women and children, particularly from Angola to Namibia for agricultural labor and from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to South Africa. Malawian and Mozambican adults and children are occasionally trafficked to Zambia for forced agricultural labour.
The report recommended that Zambia should pass and enact the draft comprehensive anti-trafficking law; formalize and implement victim identification and referral procedures; and increase anti-human trafficking public awareness, particularly among government officials.
Lane says the organization (IOM) has been training communities about trafficking and how to detect traffickers. This they have done through sensitization and some messages have been translated in the local languages to enable the communities understand.
“In Zambia we have messages translated in Nyanja and Bemba while other countries have Kiswahili and French,” She says.
The organization has also managed to train at least 700 police and immigration officers at the border areas between 2006- 2010, to enable them detect the vice.
This shows how the trafficking menace especially of women is deeply rooted in the African countries. And the women to progress as the men, all sectors must join hands to fight it and rescue both the victims.
Zambia has been at the far front championing for the rights of women and the women organizations petitioned the government to make the International Women’s Day a public holiday so that they are able to pass home the message to all individuals.
Some of the activities lined up during this year’s International Women’s day celebrations in Zambia included a march by participants from Munali high School to the venue (Mulungushi International Conference Centre), speeches from the Vice President George Kunda, who said the Government was showing commitment to ensure gender equity and equality in all sectors.
Others were Non-Governmental Organizations coordinating council board chair person, Marian Munyinda who appealed for practical and deliberate legal framework to be put in place to improve the status of women in the country.
She called for honoring of women who have distinguished themselves in different fields during ceremonies such as the investiture ceremony that the government conducts during Independence Day celebrations.
International Women’s day was declared a public holiday following petitions from the women to the late and former president Levy Mwanawasa, who declared it a public holiday in 2008 but was effected in 2009’s celebration.
The below facts are worth noting on women in Sub-Saharan Africa (Sources: The Hunger Project, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/Aids (UNAIDS), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA);
Women are responsible for 70 to 80 percent of household food production
Women are responsible for obtaining 90 percent of the water, wood and fuel
55 percent of primary students not enrolled in schools are girls
Nearly twice as many women over age 15 are illiterate compared to men
Women are 1.6 times more likely to be infected by HIV/Aids than men.
77 percent of all HIV/AIDS positive women live in sub-Saharan Africa.
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