In this article I willpresent a descriptive picture of the life situation of women in Zambia from myexperience of having lived for six months in that country, traveling todifferent areas of the territory. I will begin with an economic and politicalcontextualization of the country, followed by the body of the text in which thesocial conditions that impact women of all ages will be established.

Edgar Lungu, the currentpresident of Zambia, governs a peaceful country in which 64% of the populationlives under conditions of poverty, ranking him 139th in the HDI as one of thepoorest in the world. The 2011 elections placed Michael Sata, a member of thePatriotic Front party, as president. Once dead, in 2014, the current presidenttook over the government. However, the fear of locals talking about politicsshows that their mandate is not democratic. One of my colleagues closed thedoor of his room so that no one could hear what he was about to tell us. It isa dictatorship, he said, anyone who speaks ill of the government or who joinsthe protests of Lusaka -the capital- is murdered, everyone knows it andeveryone is silent out of fear. When he finished, he opened the door and wecontinued a talk about work.

In Lusaka, nobody walks aftersunset because of "children on the streets". It is a common behavioramong teenagers to leave their homes to live on the streets and take place inacts of vandalism and theft. The country of 752 618 km2 has a population -according to the 2015 census - of 15,203,315 people and has an overwhelmingpresence of NGOs, including the Peace Corps of the United States. However, thepeople most affected by common diseases, malnutrition, and anemia do not havethe means to treat themselves since the medical centers lack aqueducts, basicmedicines, and personnel.

 Thequestion that arises refers to the absence of the government and theineffectiveness of the entities that provide economic, voluntary, and free aid.The response continues to be extreme poverty despite the loans and developmentprojects of entities such as the World Bank and the International MonetaryFund. By receiving these loans and ceding power to large foreign entities, thegovernment power of the country is reduced, and loses the ability to intervenein matters of the nation.

The NGOs have their land anddo not pay taxes, in addition, they have the right to establish businesses tosustain themselves economically. These warehouses sell used merchandise, thatis, they sell below the prices of the national market. The consequence iseasily seen when making a comparison between the existence of nationalcompanies before and after the appearance of these sites. While in the pastZambia had 7 leather and fabric companies, today only 1 of them remains: localmerchants couldn't compete with the prices of foreign used clothing. However,these entities do not make large-scale projects with the high profits theyreceive.

Typhoid fever, which comesfrom consuming food or water contaminated by excrement, is one of the mostcommon and lethal diseases, as is malaria transmitted by the bite of infectedmosquitoes. Despite having a simple treatment, the number of deaths given bythese two conditions reaches an alarming number of people.

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The NGOs have their own land and do not pay taxes, in addition, they have the right to establish businesses to sustain themselves economically. These warehouses sell used merchandise, that is, they sell below the prices of the national market. The consequence is easily seen when making a comparison between the existence of national companies before and after the appearance of these sites. While in the past Zambia had 7 leather and fabric companies, today only 1 of them remains: it was impossible for local merchants to compete with the prices of foreign used clothing. However, these entities do not make large-scale projects with the high profits they receive.

Typhoid fever, which comes from consuming food or water contaminated by excrement, is one of the most common and lethal diseases, as is malaria transmitted by the bite of infected mosquitoes. Despite having a simple treatment, the number of deaths given by these two conditions reach an alarming number of people.

People who live outside thecity do not have any access to drinking water or means of transport. Also, theland where they live does not belong to them. Every person who wants to build ahut should talk to the chief of the region and ask permission to settle in theplace he chooses; You must also pay a tribute, usually in kind, as a way ofthanking.

Girls start going to schoolbut rarely reach the sixth grade. Basic education is a privilege despite beingfree since it represents a loss of personnel for the job. Yes, everyone worksfrom an early age as workers, harvest collectors, keeping the huts tidy,feeding the animals, taking care of the small children, and selling vegetablesand river fish in the precarious trading posts, among other tasks.

The payment for a dailyworkday of a worker is 20 kwacha, that is, 2 dollars. Money that is spent, in alarge number of cases, on alcohol once the day is over. The vegetables andfruits that are planted around the huts are sold at approximately 5 kwacha, 50cents. Fleeing the poverty of their primary homes, adolescents settle down intheir hut and begin to work without education: the vicious circle of ignorance,the lack of credentials, and the multiple children that will come.

Zambia is the first countryin the world with more young marriages. One of the reasons is forced marriage.The girls are sold for approximately 100 kwacha, that is, 10 dollars, to thefamily of the child or man who wants to marry her. Once married, the husbandhas the right to abuse his wife in any way and force her to have sex withoutany contraceptive method or prevention of sexually transmitted diseases.

Although condoms cost 5kwacha, the equivalent of 50 US cents, women who use or buy them are labeled aspromiscuous and impure. This leads to 59,000 new infections, 21,000 deathsrelated to HIV-AIDS, and 8900 transmissions of the virus between mother andchild in 2016; 1100000 people are currently living with the virus (UNAIDS, 2018).Approximately 95% of the deaths of women between 13 and 15 years are the resultof the inability to give birth to the biological conditions of their bodies atthis early age. Given the absence and precariousness of medical centers, manybabies die in a short period after childbirth.

The use of contraceptives isfar from being an established reality throughout the population. Additionally,all medications are supplied by the government and, therefore, are notavailable most of the time. Women commonly suffer from anemia due to constantpregnancies and children from malnutrition, since the food on which their dietis based consists of nshima, a mixture of corn flour and water.

Now, foreign women sufferfrom the constant harassment of men every day; not only are they persecuted inthe streets, but they also try to be touched or raped because they areconceived as trophies. Daily harassment causes a sense of vulnerability that,in my particular case, was transformed into an aggressive paranoid state.Wearing a wedding ring is a way to prevent harassment from being so excessive.I was traveling with a colleague whom men constantly harassed; I opted toprevent any possibility of sexual assault by carrying a knife with a bladeabout ten centimeters on my belt so that I could face the men or threaten themif needed.

One of them, a powerfulperson in one of the areas where we live for more than two months, told me oneday in a malicious way that he did not know that I had feelings towards myfriend. This generated a question whose answer paralyzed us from fear of bothduring our trip: homosexuality is a crime in Zambia. Only a denunciation isnecessary to condemn the person, given that public or private homosexualrelation are condemned with five years in prison. The constant questions theyasked me were if I was a man or a woman, why I smoke if I was a woman, why Iwear a tie, why I have a knife if women were not supposed to wear them, and whyI dressed like a man.

The prejudices of thatsociety lead millions of people to suffer unnecessarily in too many aspects oflife: repression and political persecution of dissent and homosexuality,economic scarcity, lack of health care, violence against women, violation ofchildren's rights, violent deaths and deaths due to lack of supplies andmedical personnel, among others.

For me, it is still unknownwhat to do to help. The work gives profits to the workers, however, thepayments for the work are ridiculously small. Without university studies -whichonly the richest people in the country can access- it is impossible to hire alocal to manage a business or efficient staff that has the necessary knowledgefor certain specific tasks. I firmly believe that what the poorest countries inthe world need is a well-paid job, which is only possible through privateforeign investment. However, it will not be sufficient or probable withoutsocial education.

Bibliography

African Statistical CoordinationCommittee. 2011. African Statistical Yearbook.

Chirwa, E. Rasmussen, P. Zamba, C.2016. AfricanEconomic Outlook. Zambia.
Hiatt, S.2007. A Game as Old as Empire. SanFrancisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers Inc.

Kent, R. Ndulo, M. 1996. Constitutionalismin Zambia: Past, Present and Future. At: Journal of African Law, Vol. 40,No. 2, Liber Amicorum for Professor James S. Read (1996), pp. 256-278. Schoolof Oriental and African Studies

Ntomba, R. 2015. Lungu and the politicalpressure cooker. At: New African. October. Issue 554.

United Nations Development Programme.2016. Zambia Human Development Report 2016. Lusaka: United NationsDevelopment Programme.

UNAIDS.2018. Zambia.