THE INTERNALIZATION OF GENDER EQUALITY MESSAGES IN THESECURITY INSTITUTIONS IN ZAMBIA WITH SPECIFIC REFERENCETO ATTITUDES AND PRACTICES

A Ph D. RESEARCH PROPOSAL

BY

SYLVESTER M SHIPOLO

COMPUTER NUMBER: 513803808

DEPARTMENT OF GENDER STUDIES

SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

UNIVERSITY OF ZAMBIA

SUPERVISOR: PROFESSOR MUBIANA MACWAN’GI

CO-SUPERVISOR: DR. FAY GADSDEN

JANUARY, 2014

1.0 BACKGROUND

The genesis of the public fight against institutionalisedpatriarchy, which is the spreading of gender equalitymessages, has its origin in New York, in the United States ofAmerica, at the Wesleyan chapel, at Seneca falls about onehundred and sixty five years ago (more than one and half acentury years ago), in July 1848, at a convention which wasorganised by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott with thesupport of Susan B Anthony, Lucy Stone and Sojourner truth,when the first wave feminism movement had just began( Eisenberg. B., & Ruthsdotter. M., 1998; Senft, T., (2001).The gender equality messages, whose strength was drawn fromthe abolitionist movements of the 1830s, dubbed the‘Declaration of sentiments’ were a rewrite of the UnitedNations Declaration of Independence fusing in a woman as a thesubject( Eisenberg. B., &Ruthsdotter. M., 1998). This resultedfrom the subjugation and oppression the women were accustomedto during that time, the time when patriarchy, which Walby ascited in Mujkanovic (2013), defined as systems of structuresand practices in which men dominate, oppress and exploitwomen, was pervasive in society. At that time, on anunderstanding that the fundamental differences between men andwomen are immutable, women were treated like minors andconfined to the private sphere- the household, with no rightto vote; no right to work in most of the occupations; notbeing accepted in colleges or universities; submitting to lawswhich they had no voice in their formations and being made tobe totally dependent on men ( Senft. T., Op cit). Knowledgeabout society and the way of living was derived from theexperiences of men whereby man was the center and the absolute

to which a woman was supposed to refer to when looking at theworld (Legermann. M. P., & Niebrugge-Bantley. J., 1998). A manand woman were living in a binary arrangement of female/maleprivate/public a situation which Dowler (1998) as cited byYun-Fen Chu (2005) calls, ‘a gendered dichotomy of space’where men were expected to develop careers outside the homeand women inside the home.

What began as a women’s movement developed quickly into anumber of feminist and gender theoretical perspectives andmethods of understanding human behaviour and startedchallenging, deconstructing and constructing the socialdiscourse including showing their masculinist bias whileenhancing and justifying the gender equality messages(Lengermann &Niebrugge., Op cit). The theory of culturalfeminism for instance, through its proponents such as,Margaret Fuller, France Willard, Jane Addams and CharlottePerkin Gilman brought out the importance of the femininecharacter of cooperation caring and non violence in some womenand argued for their necessity in the governing of the state (Degan and Hill, 1998; Donovan, 1985; Lengermann and Niebugge-Brantley, 1998). A gender equality theory of liberal feminism,exposing the inequality of men and women to be result ofpatriarchal and sexist patterning of the division of labour,argued against the marginalisation of women as the ‘Other’ ina male created culture and proposed for equality of women andmen on the basis of an essential human capacity for reasonedmoral agency (Simone de Beavoirs, 1949; Betty Friedan,1963).And in gender oppression theories, radical feminists” such asAndrea Dworkin (1946–2005) and Catharine MacKinnon (1946– )viewed women as an oppressed group, who, like other oppressedpeoples, must struggle for their liberation against theiroppressors the men.

It had to take one hundred and twenty seven years ( a centuryand almost three decades) of concerted effort of women andsome men, in the face of resistance from most men, from thetime that the gender equality messages were introduced to the

public by Elizabeth and her friends at Seneca, that acceptancelevels of the same gender equality messages reached an extentwhere the United Nations felt obliged to host a first everglobal conference on women in Mexico city in 1975 with thesole purpose of discussing them(UN. 2000). The implication ofhosting the conference by the United Nations was that it notonly elevated the cause for gender equality, which wasinitiated by a few women, to the very centre of the globalagenda, but also it sent a very strong signal towards thedemolition of patriarchy and its tools everywhere asmanifested in the three objectives that were set:

1. Full gender equality and elimination of genderdiscrimination;

2. The integration and full participation of women indevelopment and

3. An increased contribution by women in the strengtheningof world peace(UN. 2000; Hilka. P., & Jean. V., 1994)

To this effect a ten year period was designated as theinternational decade for women in which to pursue the abovestated objectives amidst ridicule and negative attitudes fromthe ardent proponents of patriarchy especially intraditionally masculine institutions such as the military(ibid). This period brought about what can be called theglobal legalisation of gender equality messages through theformulation and adoption of the ‘Convention on the Eliminationof All forms of Discrimination against Women’ by the UnitedNation General Assembly in 1979. The convention which istermed “the bill of rights for women” legally binds UN memberstates with an obligation to remove obstacles towards theprogression of women and to be reporting the same to the UNGeneral Assembly (UN. 2000; Hilka. P., & Jean. V. 1994).Ridicule and negative attitude and practices to the genderequality messages qualify to be obstacles which need to beremoved.

The UN did not end at hosting a Mexico women conference; itwent further to host three other women conferences the secondone being in Copenhagen in 1980, with the agenda of evaluatingand assessing the activities instituted during the firstconference (ibid).

Globalisation of feminism is said to have began during thethird UN women conference which was held in Nairobi in 1985 inthat the women movement which earlier on were divided by worldpolitical and economical realities became an internationalforce unified under the gender cause of equality, developmentand peace (ibid). Notwithstanding the unity, a number ofchallenges were reported including the dilemma of handlingwomen issues as isolated issues which culminated into only aminority of women especially in developing nations benefitingfrom the initiated programmes (ibid). This required efforts toinstitutionalise gender equality messages (now called gendermainstreaming) and it started from the Nairobi Conference inthat governments were urged to delegate responsibilities ofwomen issues to all institutional offices and programmes andtaking the women perspective and active involvement on board.

The United Nations hosted the fourth women conference inBeijing in 1995 which became a milestone in the spread ofgender equality messages and in particular in the fightagainst gender inequality in that there was a shift of focusfrom women issues to the concept of gender and above all theintroduction and adoption of the phenomenon of gendermainstreaming which taken as a ‘vehicle’ to transmit thegender equality messages with an ultimate aim of attaininggender equality (ibid). Member states were obliged toeffectively include a gender dimension throughout theirinstitutions, policies, planning and decision-making. Theywere to be guided by the Beijing Declaration and Platform forAction a document (which is actually a gender equalitymessages too) with agreed upon declarations by all memberstates (UN. 2000; Hilka. P., &Jean. V., 1994). The Beijing

Declaration and Platform for Action has twelve critical areasof concern:

1. Women and poverty;2. Education and Training for women;3. Women and health;4. Violence against women;5. Women and armed conflict;6. Women and the economy;7. Women in power and decision making;8. Institutional mechanisms for advancement of women;9. Human rights of women;10. Women and the media;11. Women and the environment;12. The girl child

(UN. 2000)

The 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action broughtabout a new phase in the fight against patriarchy withinternational, regional and sub-regional bodies taking up themantle. For instance, the United Nations Millennium Summitheld at the turn of the century adopted the gender equalitymessages and included them as one of its goals, specificallygoal 3 to promote gender equality and empowerment of women( Mwaka. A. M. N., 2010 and UNDP. 2010). The African Union,through the African Union Charter on Human and People’srights, also adapted and implemented the gender equalitymessages by calling on member states to ensure that men andwomen are accorded equal rights to participate in the serviceof their countries and it urged its member states to attain 50percent (gender equality) in decision- makingpositions(Holder. C., 2009). At sub-regional level, theSouthern African Development Community (SADC) equally adoptedand implemented the gender equality messages by calling on itsmember states to create an enabling environment consistentwith the International Labour Organisations, on discriminationand equality, to ensure that men and women have equaltreatment and equal opportunities when accessing employment,

remuneration, working conditions and career development(ibid). In the similar vein, SADC urged all member states toincrease the level of representation of women in decision-making position by 30 percent in 2005 and 50 percent by2015(FEMNET, 2010). The Southern African Development Community(SADC) Gender and Development Protocol demands for at fifty-percent (equal) representation of women at all levels ofgovernment decision-making( Holder. C., 2009)

With the introduction of gender mainstreaming, member statesto the UN, AU and SADC, such as Zambia, established mechanismswith a view that policy is coordinated in mainstreaming agender perspective to ensure that gender equality messages arereflected throughout all institutions and programmes (in shotinstitutionalised). The government of the republic of Zambia,in compliance with the international and regional obligationsestablished the Gender in Development Division (GIDD) in 1996,a cabinet level office with the responsibility of overseeingthe process of gender mainstreaming in all governmentdepartments; a parliamentary committee on Legal affairs,Governance, Human Rights and Gender matters in 1999 to ensurethat concerns of both men and women(gender issues) are givenpriority when legislating; the National Gender Policy in 2000to guide government departments in mainstreaming gender andthe Gender consultative forum in 2003 to guide GIDD with theemerging gender issues(GRZ, GIDD.2000; Holder. C., 2009).Furthermore republic of Zambia came up gender programmedocuments namely, Strategy and Implementation Plan forEngendering the Public Service in 2012; National GenderCommunication Strategy 2011-2015 and National GenderMonitoring and Evaluation Plan 2011-2015 all full of genderequality messages to accelerate the journey towards genderequality (GRZ Gender. 2011)

The National Gender Policy is the key controller, for now, ofall matters of gender mainstreaming and hence the legal forcebehind the spreading of gender equality messages in allgovernment departments with a view that gender equality is

attained. The policy indicates vision of government on section5.5 as “…. attainment of equality and equity between sexes”.Section 2.17.2. states the need to “promote equitable genderrepresentation at all levels of decision making positionsthrough affirmative action. Furthermore, the policy urges forthe establishment of Gender Coordinating Points in lineministries, provincial centres and district centres tofacilitate the implementation of the gender mainstreamingprocess with the ultimate objective of attaining genderequality (GRZ, GIDD. 2000). The policy advises on thedevelopment of the criteria for the recruitment, appointmentand promotion of more women to advisory and decision-makingpositions; promotion and facilitation of continuous genderprogrammes to change people’s regarding the role of women indecision-making positions; restructuring, recruitment andcareer development programmes to ensure that all womenespecially young women have access to managerial leadership(ibid).

The government of the republic of Zambia’s effort towards thegender equality attainment went further by upgrading GIDD intoa full Ministry headed by a full Cabinet Minister.

Observations made indicate that government departmentincluding the defence and security departments in Zambiacomplied with government policy on the need to mainstreamgender. For instance, the Zambia Police Service had one of thegoals in the Zambia Police Strategic Development Plan for theyears 2001-2006 to advance the promotion of gender equality.The whole chapter under that goal have only gender equalitymessages framed to promote the progression of female policeofficers out of a back ground of few female officers ascompared to male officers (GRZ, ZP. 2001). In addition, theZambia Police Service introduced a gender desk manned by twoofficers with plans to transform it into a fully fledgedsection or unit with the responsibility of coordinating andmonitoring the implementation of the process of gendermainstreaming in the police department (Zambia Police

Headquarters, 2012). Preliminary inquiries undertaken at theMinistry of Defence Headquarters also indicated that, theDefense department equally complied with government policy ongender mainstreaming with all gender programmes and activitiesbeing coordinated by an appointed gender focal person ( MajorMukela, 2013).

However, in the midst of so much effort to spread the genderequality messages and so much commitment in adopting andimplementing structures and regulations to attain genderequality the government of the republic of Zambia failed toattain the 30 percent women representation in decision makingpositions as at 2005 required by SADC and was tasked, togetherwith others who failed to reach 30 percent at 2005, to reachit by 2015( FEMNET 2010). Some countries in the region such asSouth Africa (43 percent), Angola (38 percent), Tanzania (30percent) and Mozambique (38 percent) managed to meet thetarget set by SADC and were urged to reach 50 percent by 2015(ibid). Zambia’s inability to meet the target is a negativecontribution of all its departments as findings indicate fromstudies undertaken. Christina Holden revealed that genderequality attainment is far from being attained in Zambia’sgovernment departments apart from the Judiciary due to a gapin the internalisation of gender equality messages (Holder.C., 2009). The problem of the gap in the internalisation ofgender equality messages cannot be overruled especially afterthe same was confirmed during Zambia’s first Nationalsymposium on gender based violence held in Lusaka in 2013.Kasare Tresford indicated that a lot of officers still havechallenges in understanding gender cases for they still regardthem as not serious cases (Kasare. T., 2013).

According to Scott Finley J., (1971), internalization involvesthe process of learning and understanding an external idea orconcept into an inner self and is exhibited through onesactions and practices if completely done. This means acceptingof the new ideas and concepts is also important for theprocess to realise required behaviour. If internalization is

all about learning and understanding then the process ofmainstreaming gender if properly implemented and acceptedshould adequately handle the internalisation of genderequality messages. Schinmelfening & Sedelmeier (2004)’s threedistinct model, the social learning model, the externalincentive model and the lesson drawing model indicates that itis not as easy as that as the learning process of new ideasand concepts is destined to either fail or succeed in the faceof internal cultural driven norms, attitudes and practices.Internalization of gender equality messages, measured throughactions, behaviours, attitudes and practices will enableprediction of the levels of gender equality.

Therefore, with reference to the defence and securitydepartments, a question that needs to be answered is whyshould there be a problem of the gap in the internalization ofgender equality messages after so much effort exhibited in theadoption and implementation of gender mainstreaming? Such aquestion will just be left to speculation if no research isundertaken. One will just wonder as to whether the problem iswith the whole process of institutionalising the genderequality messages or with the institutions applying theprocess of institutionalizing the gender equality messages orperhaps the problem is with stakeholders and their attitudesand practices all is with factors too remote to be seen.Organisation and bureaucratic theories standing on the natureof some organisations especially the military tells us thatchange is usually not welcome and studies undertaken elsewhereattribute this problem to lack of harmonization of thetraditional internal norms and practices with the about to beintroduced concepts or ideas (Mujkanovic. 2013). Anexploratory thesis on the stakeholders lived practices andattitudes towards not only the very structures and processesof gender mainstreaming but to the very concepts contained inthe gender equality messages is required. In the currentsituation were so much work has been done to spread the genderequality messages yet there be a gap in the internalisation of

gender equality messages, a study aimed at offering anunderstanding on the internalisation of gender equalitymessages is unavoidable. This is what this study intends todo. Its significance is anchored in the contributions thatwill be made to the research community, the discipline ofgender, to policy makers and above all to the ultimate goal ofgender equality attainment illuminating the desires andaspirations of the initiators of the struggle againstpatriarchy, Elizabeth Cady Stanton with her friends, which waslaunched one hundred and sixty five years ago (more than acentury and half ago) at Seneca in the United States ofAmerica when they introduced the gender equality messages-thedeclaration of sentiments to the public( Eisenberg. B.,&Ruthsdotter. M., Op cit).

2.0 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

In the quest to attain gender equality, the global communityfound it necessary to adopt the process of gendermainstreaming as an effective way in which internalisation ofgender equality messages was going to occur, the process whichwas also adopted by Zambia. From this perspective, the genderequality messages- the concerns and interests of both men andwomen-are expected to be fused into policies and programmes –institutionalised-in the departments for internalisation tooccur. However, in the midst of so much effort by thegovernment of the republic of Zambia including theestablishment of not only policies and strategies as well asstructures and mechanisms such as the Gender in DevelopmentDivision in 1996, with the sole purpose of initiating andcoordinating the process of gender mainstreaming in allgovernment departments, gender equality attainment has beenfound to be far from being attained in government departments,apart from the Judiciary, due to the gap in theinternalisation of gender equality messages ( Holder. C.,2009). The problem of the gap in the internalisation of genderequality messages was confirmed during Zambia’s first Nationalsymposium on gender based violence which was held in Lusaka in

2013. Kasare Tresford indicated that a lot of officers stillhave challenges in understanding gender cases for they stillregard them as not serious cases (Kasare. T., 2013). Thissituation can equally be one of the reasons why Zambia failedto attain the 30 percent women representation in decisionmaking positions as at 2005 required by SADC. Therefore, withreference to the defence and security departments, a questionthat needs to be answered by this study is why should there bea problem of the gap in the internalization of gender equalitymessages after so much effort exhibited towards the genderequality messages including the adoption and implementation ofthe process of gender mainstreaming thirteen years ago?

3.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

Quite a lot has been written on the equality of men and womenin security institutions. Juma M., and Anesu M., (2008)researched on the low participation of women in Africanmilitaries. They found that gender perceptions have restrictedwomen in the military to prescribed gender roles as nurses,cooks, secretaries and officers in personnel units. Silva Van(2006) argued that women were already in the military but theonly area they have been denied to work from is the groundcombat despite them being involved during the Iraq war calledthe ‘Desert Storm’. A commission was instituted, by GeorgeBush (sr), immediately after the ‘Desert Storm’ war toascertain whether the women were eligible to remain in themilitary or not. Being unable to meet and endure physicalburdens; awkward situations may arise due to lack of privacyand forced intimacy and fear of pregnancies were cited asbarriers towards retaining women in the military (ibid).

On the contrary Poter and Adside have argued that in the Armyphysical fitness test is often misinterpreted as being anindicator for determining combat readiness for none of theservices have adequately studied or developed a job-specificphysical performance standards. In reference to lack ofprivacy during the Persian Gulf War “..men and women serving

side-by-side in the Gulf demonstrated that they were capableof working together as teams; they could be comrades without“fraternizing”, they could share tents without sharing beds,they could share common dangers without feigning chivalry”,(ibid). According to Miller, a sociologist, the levels ofsexual harassment in the military are far lower than thelevels of the same crime in the civilian sector. He predictedthe fading away of the vice as more women enter the militaryand prove that they can work just as hard as their malecounterparts.

In a related study but in the police service, Hazenburg (1996)argued that, the question of whether women should be or shouldnot be part of the military needs no discussion becauseinternational treaties, such as the Universal Declaration ofHuman Rights 1984 and the convention on the Elimination of Allforms of Discrimination against Women of 1979 indicates thatthere should be no differentiation by authorities on women ingovernment jobs. However, various researchers, such as Blockand Anderson as cited in Hazenburg (1996), have found thatthere are not many women within the police service and thatthose that are there have to deal with a mancho cultureconcerning sexual harassment and unhealthy mutual workingrelations. Stanton (1986) argued that the use of women in lawenforcement worldwide is as diverse as various culturesthemselves. He observed that in many parts of the world womencontinue to perform highly traditionally feminine jobsparticularly in those countries where women have never beenaccorded full social, economic and political equality. Forinstance, in Europe the percentage of women in operationalwork varied from 1.9 percent to 16 percent.

The hiring of women in the police just like in the army, orother male dominated institution is met with various obstaclesincluding prejudice from their male counterparts. Otherstudies conducted have revealed that male officers feel womenare not physically qualified to serve as police officers. ButMore and Wegner (1992) attributed male attitude as one of the

most significant obstacle to women’s inclusion in the policeservice. Martin (1997) recommended the formulation andimplementation of laws requiring non-discrimination on thebasis of sex regarding terms and conditions of employment. Arecently undertaken Zambian study on the gender representationof high ranking police officers in Zambia Police Service foundsimilar factors as the cause of low levels of representationof women in high ranks (shipolo, 2012).

4.0 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

While there is substantial literature on the need to promotegender equality and while many countries have come up withgender innovations and gender policies to promote genderrepresentative institutions, studies on the impact of suchinnovations and policies on the gender representativeinstitutions are rare. The proposed study seeks to investigatethis area of gender policy impact which has not been givensufficient attention in studies on gender in Zambia. It hasbeen a little over a decade since the introduction of variousgender innovations and the establishment of the NationalGender Policy but there is no record to show thatimplementation has taken place and results obtained and bywho, in terms of knowledge and expertise . In addition, it isnot clear as to what impact the innovations and policy havehad in attaining gender representative institutions in theZambia Security institutions such as the Zambia Army, theZambia Police Service and the Zambia Air Force. This study issignificant in that it will provide valuable data on theimpact of gender innovations and National Gender Policy on thepromotion of gender representative institutions as well asdata on which to base the formulation of various future genderinnovations and gender policies. It is an enquiry on theeffect of the current gender innovations and National GenderPolicy on policy makers and senior officers as well as theservice providers on the ground including stake holders in thenon-governmental organisations, examining the knowledge levelsand skills held by gender focal persons (capacity of gender

focal points) and if at all these structures are there.Specifically the study intends to investigate the adaptabilityof the gender innovations and National Gender Policy in theZambia Army, the Zambia Police Service and the Zambia AirForce in as far as attaining gender representativeinstitutions is concerned. The study seeks to establish theattitudes of not only senior officers especially thoseresponsible for institutional policy formulation and otherofficers involved in the day to day service provision but alsothe attitudes and opinions of other stake holders includingthe non-governmental organisations on the application of thegender innovations and National Gender Policy on the promotionof gender representative institutions in the Zambia army, theZambia Police Service and the Zambia Air Force. It is based onthe assumption that the participants under investigation likethe entire Zambian population are gender literate and areaware that the country is on the path to promote and attaingender equality in all areas. Furthermore, the study has beenenvisioned on the premise that poverty and violence againstwomen and men can only be adequately dealt with if allinstitutions become representative of the institutions whichthey serve for effective service delivery. It is thereforeopportune to examine how issues of gender currently playthemselves out in Zambia’s security institutions in the faceof gender innovations and National Gender Policy.

5.0 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

5.1 Aim of the study

The aim of the study is to establish whether or not genderrepresentative institutions are being attained in the ZambiaArmy, the Zambia Police Service and the Zambia Air Force withthe current gender innovations and National Gender Policy.

5.2 Specific objectives

The study seeks to achieve the following objectives:

(i) To establish the extent of gender representation in theZambia army, the Zambia Police Service and the ZambiaAir Force;

(ii) To identify the extent, if any, the institutionalgender innovations and institutional gender policieshave been formulated and implemented in the ZambiaArmy, the Zambia Police Service and the Zambia AirForce regarding the attainment of gender representativeinstitutions;

(iii) To identify whether, how and when the genderinnovations and National Gender Policy were acquiredand implemented in the Zambia Army, the Zambia PoliceService and the Zambia Air Force regarding theattainment of gender representative institutions;

(iv) To identify and assess the attitudes towards genderinnovations and National Gender Policy in the ZambiaArmy, the Zambia Police Service and the Zambia AirForce regarding the promotion of gender representativeinstitutions;

(v) To identify and assess the attitudes and opinions ofother stake holders including the non-governmentalorganisation towards the application of genderinnovations and National Gender Policy in the ZambiaArmy, the Zambia Police Service and the Zambia AirForce regarding the promotion of gender representativeinstitutions and

(vi) To come up with a framework and make recommendations onwhich to base formulation and implementation of futuregender innovations and gender policies for theattainment of gender representative institutions.

5.3 Research questions

The proposed study will attempt to answer the followingspecific questions in relations to the objectives outlinedabove:

(i) What is the extent of gender representation in theZambia Army, the Zambia Police Service and the ZambiaAir Force?

(ii) How far has the adoption and implementation of thegender innovations and National Gender Policy gone inthe Zambia Army, the Zambia Police Service and theZambia Air Force regarding the attainment of genderrepresentative institutions?

(iii) How far has the formulation and implementation ofinstitutional gender innovations and gender policiesgone in the Zambia Army, the Zambia Police Service andthe Zambia Air Force regarding the attainment of genderrepresentative institutions?

(iv) What is the attitude towards the application of genderinnovations and National Gender Policy in the ZambiaArmy, the Zambia Police Service and the Zambia AirForce regarding the attainment of gender representativeinstitutions?

(v) How do other stake holders including the non-governmental organisations perceive the application ofgender innovations and National Gender Policy in theZambia Army, the Zambia Police Service and the ZambiaAir Force regarding the attainment of genderrepresentative institutions?

6.0 THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK

The study draws its strength from theories of feminism and inparticular liberal feminism and the gendered organisationtheory. Mainstream western feminist theory was launched by aseries of texts such as Betty Friedan’s “the femininemystique”(1963), Shulamith Firestone’s “the dialectic ofsex”(1970) and Germaine Greer’s “the female eunuch”(1970).Influenced by Simone de Beauvoir’s famous dictum that womenare not born but made, these texts rapidly accumulated anentire range of descriptive, analytic and normative conceptswhich have since become indispensable for serious feminist

analysis. These oriented themselves on definitions of women’semancipation, women’s liberation and women’s oppression.

According to feminist theory, the family constituted theprimary object of analysis. Description of structures ofeveryday life in modernity revealed that the family as aninstitution enacts a gender division of labour, as itnormatively relegates most women to the private sphere andmost men to the public sphere. Feminist theorists studied theunequal consequences for men and women resulting from thenormative of the public/private distinctions. The discoverieswere that as individuals and as a group or class, women didnot enjoy equal liberties, parities and opportunities in thepublic sphere as compared to those enjoyed by men.

Liberal feminists of the late eighteenth and nineteenthcenturies, such as Mary Wollstonecraft (1959-97) argued forwomen to be included in the masculine project (Wollstonecraft,1978[1992]). She wanted women to attain what men of a similarclass had in terms of opportunities and access to publicactivities. Wollstonecraft, in common with other LiberalFeminists of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries drew aliberal tradition’s value of equality and individual freedomto argue that, just as social status at birth was no longer alegitimate basis on which to discriminate among men asLiberals argued, so also sex at birth should no longer be alegitimate basis on which to discriminate against women.

With reference to the gendered organisation theory, Martin andjurick (1996) argue that gender is a process that emergesthrough social practice and not as an individual attribute. Itis an on-going production affected by “routine accomplishmentsand structural interactions”

This study will look at the representation of men and women inthe gendered institutions and therefore it remains to thefinding of this study to indicate how the attributes advancedby the above mentioned theories play themselves out in theZambia Army, the Zambia Police Service and the Zambia Air

Force in as far as attainment of a gender representativeinstitution is concerned.

7.0 RESEARCH METHOLOGY

7.1 General

The study will employ a cross section survey design, which ismost appropriate for obtaining information from a large numberof people at a given point in time. The cross section surveydesign will be used in this study because the investigationsseeks to establish the impact of the gender innovations andthe National Gender Policy on the attainment of genderrepresentative institutions in the Zambia Army, the ZambiaPolice Service and the Zambia Air Force at a given point intime rather than at several points.

The qualitative approach will be used to a larger extentcomplimented by the quantitative approach to obtain an in-depth understanding of the opinions and attitudes in theimplementation of gender innovations and the National GenderPolicy in the attainment of representative institutions in theareas to be investigated and also to validate the dataobtained using one method. The quantitative approach will beused to establish the extent to which certain attitudes andopinions will be prevalent among the participants to thequestionnaire.

7.2 Study area and sample size

When selecting the sample for the study great effort will bemade to ensure its representativeness to the population so asto guarantee external validity.

The questionnaire sample for the study will be drawn from theZambia Army, the Zambia Police Service and the Zambia AirForce within Lusaka Province to establish the attitudes and

their prevalence towards the application of the genderinnovations and National Gender Policy in the attainment ofgender representative institutions. 200 participants from eachinstitution of varying age, education level, rank, length ofservice and gender will be selected for the study to beadministered with a questionnaire.

The sample for the in-depth interview totalling 46, will beselected from the policy making officers or high rankingpersonnel from the Zambia Army, The Zambia Police Service, theZambia Air Force, Parliament, Cabinet, GIDD and non-governmental organisations. This is intended to solicitinformation which will enable the researcher establishattitudes and opinions of policy makers and stake holdersregarding the application of gender innovations and NationalGender Policy regarding the attainment of genderrepresentative institutions in the areas under study.

7.3 Data collection instruments

7.3.1 A semi-structured self administered questionnaire

This will be used to solicit data from the stratified sampleof 200 participants from each security institution for thepurposes of establishing the attitudes of the participantsregarding the application of the gender innovations andNational Gender Policy in the attainment of genderrepresentative institutions. A self administered questionnairewill be used because it is the most effective method inreducing social interest bias for it isolates the researcherfrom the study subjects (shipolo, 2012). The participants willbe accorded an opportunity to answer the questionnaires at thecomfort of their homes. Furthermore despite being a versatiletool for both qualitative and quantitative data, thequestionnaire also facilitates the collection of data from alarge number of respondents within a short period of time(Johnson,2004; Bamberger, 2000).

7.3.2 In-depth interview guide

This will be used to solicit information from the 46 selectedpolicy makers and high ranking officers from the Zambia Army,the Zambia Police Service, the Zambia Air Force, Cabinet,Parliament, GIDD and the non-government organisation on theopinions and attitudes in the application of genderinnovations and National Gender Policy in the Zambia Army, theZambia Police Service and the Zambia Air Force regarding theattainment of gender representative institutions. Data fromin-depth interviews will also enable the researcher toestablish the extent of the adoption and implementation ofgender innovations and the National Gender Policy in the threesecurity institutions.

7.3.3 Document analysis guide

This will be used to gather data to establish the extent ofthe formulation and implementation of institutional genderinnovations and gender policies in the attainment of genderrepresentative institutions as well as the extent of genderrepresentation in the proposed areas of study.

7.4 Data collection procedure

The main data collection exercise will be undertaken over aperiod of eight weeks. In terms of specific procedure, theresearcher will distribute the questionnaires to theparticipants after obtaining permission from relevantauthorities supported with a letter of introduction which willbe obtained from the school department (Department of GenderStudies).Two days will given in which to answer them.Immediately after collecting the questionnaires the researcherwill conduct in-depth interviews from the selectedinterviewees. Permission to record the interview will besought and if allowed the interviews will be transcribed.Document analysis will be following in-depth interviews ineach particular institution

Both participants to the in-depth interview and questionnairewill be availed with the information concerning their right toprivacy, confidentiality and whether to agree or not to agreeto take part or to stop the interview or skip a question ifthey deem it fit. All questionnaires and interviews will beadministered in English language on the presumption thatparticipants who will be full time employees in the publicservice are conversant with English which is Zambia’s officiallanguage.

7.5 Data analysis

Thematic analysis will be used to analyse qualitative data.Data analysis will start during data collection exercise byarranging the field notes according to salient themes. Thiswill be followed by identification, explanation andinterpretation of the emerging themes and/or conceptualpatterns or response categories in the context in which theyoccur. Quotations of significant portions of responsesobtained will also be used to depict respondent’s attitudes intheir own words.

Quantitative data will be analysed by using the StatisticalPackage for Social Sciences (SPSS). SPSS will be used in orderto obtain frequencies and tables on the prevalence of certainattitudes from the participants