By ALICE NACHILEMBE
Zambia Tax Platform Calls for Deliberate Interventions and Transformed Economic Policies Targeting Women Amidst the Covid-19 Pandemic.
Social and Economic Investment Monitoring Analyst Theresa Mutale said the Covid-19 public health pandemic risks maturing into an economic and social crisis, the impacts will be toughest on women.
Ms Mutale said the pandemic has intensified the already existing gender inequalities and unmasked the weaknesses in Zambia’s social and economic systems.
She said women, both in the short term and long term may face disproportionately greater financial challenges, job losses, challenges to access to sexual and reproductive health services and weakened social security protection
Ms Mutale said the deteriorating standards of living may further perpetuate gender-based violence.
“ZTP therefore calls for collective action among CSOs, the private sector and government to ensure that efforts made towards bridging the gender gap and providing social protection to women are not completely erased by the pandemic,” she said.
She said protecting the wellbeing of women will require deliberate interventions and transformed economic policies that target women and support women-led businesses.
Mr Mutale has urged government and financial institutions to work together and consider grants and subsidized loans to women-owned business.
