As Zambia moves toward its Aug. 13 national elections, politicians and women’s rights groups have warned that some female candidates face pressure from senior male party officials to provide sexual favors in return for endorsements and support, a practice they described as “sextortion.”
The issue came into public view this week after Mainga Kabika, the permanent secretary of Zambia’s Gender Division, said she received 10 complaints involving women seeking party backing to stand as candidates. Kabika said the complaints alleged that various political party officials, including chairpersons, youth leaders and people holding senior positions, were asking for sexual favors in exchange for endorsing women and supporting their campaigns.
Kabika urged women who aspire to run for office to secure evidence against the suspects, while not naming the parties or officials implicated. The comments fueled calls from opposition and civil society figures to treat the problem as a serious barrier to women’s political participation rather than a cycle that only resurfaces at election time.
Saboi Imboela, president of the opposition National Democratic Congress, told The Associated Press that the problem arises every election cycle. Imboela said candidates who have the ability to compete have often been sidelined because they refused to comply, adding that “As a result, the wrong candidates are selected while deserving individuals are left out. This must be fought at all costs,” in comments to AP on Wednesday.
Imboela, who is a former singer, said some female politicians and nongovernmental organizations including the Zambia National Women’s Lobby have formed a committee to address what she called the “sextortion” of female political candidates. She said the committee includes a toll-free helpline.
The Zambia National Women’s Lobby’s executive director, Golden Nachibinga, said earlier allegations involving officials demanding sexual favors in the run-up to elections have discouraged women from joining politics. Another candidate, Venna Banda, said she had encountered sexual harassment while trying to build a political career and urged female politicians to “refuse,” while adding that inexperienced or less-established candidates may be more vulnerable.
Zambia’s elections will select the president, lawmakers and local councilors, and the country’s gender gap in politics is already widely documented. Advocates pointed to figures from the Inter-Parliamentary Union showing that women make up about 15% of members of Parliament.
Zambia has passed a law reserving at least 20 seats in Parliament for women, and has also aimed to increase representation of young and disabled people. President Hakainde Hichilema has acknowledged gender disparities in Zambian politics, and his vice president, Mutale Nalumango, is a woman, but women’s groups and candidates say discriminatory barriers still affect who gets opportunities inside parties.
At the same time, several Zambian women’s groups described the society as largely conservative and patriarchal, setting the backdrop for concerns that party endorsement processes can be leveraged to extract compliance.