CREDIT PAGE The Department of International Environment and Development Studies, Noragric, is the international gateway for the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB). Eight departments, associated research institutions and the Norwegian College of Veterinary Medicine in Oslo. Established in 1986, Noragric’s contribution to international development lies in the interface between research, education (Bachelor, Master and PhD programmes) and assignments. The Noragric Master theses are the final theses submitted by students in order to fulfill the requirements under the Noragric Master programme “International Environmental Studies”, “Development Studies” and other Master programmes. The findings in this thesis do not necessarily reflect the views of Noragric. Extracts from this publication may only be reproduced after prior consultation with the author and on condition that the source is indicated. For rights of reproduction or translation contact Noragric. © Emmah Nashon Tembo Mutoloki, May 2012 [email protected] Noragric Department of International Environment and Development Studies P.O. Box 5003 N-1432 Ås Norway Tel.: +47 64 96 52 00 Fax: +47 64 96 52 01 Internet: http://www.umb.no/noragric i DECLARATION Emmah Nashon Tembo Mutoloki, declare that this thesis is a result of my research investigations and findings. Sources of information other than my own have been acknowledged and a reference list has been appended. This work has not been previously submitted to any other university for award of any type of academic degree. Signature……………………………….. Date………………………………………… ii DEDICATION It’s a great honour for me to dedicate this thesis to four people that mean so much in my life. My beautiful daughters; Joy, Chikondi and little Nicole for supporting and believing in me even when you could not fully understand why I failed to give you time that you deserved with me, you were always there when l needed someone to talk to. I love you more than you will ever know!! To Stephen my lovely husband, your support and encouragement as a husband cannot be overemphasized. Honestly this thesis would not have been possible without your continuous support and encouragement, thank you honey! iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Firstly I would like to thank my dearest God for his sustenance and guidance throughout this journey without giving up on me. To my supervisor Gunnar Heiene, I cannot thank you enough for all encouraging comments and diplomacy; you gave me confidence even when I felt like I didn’t know what I was doing, your expertise and interest in the area of human rights have positively contributed to my submitting of this master thesis and for that I am truly grateful. May the good Lord continue blessing you! To my second supervisor Darley Kjosavik (UMB): I am extremely grateful for your willingness to take me on despite your “student overload.” I must say I was really humbled, thank you!!! I would like to thank Camilla Hansen from University of Oslo, Faculty of Community Health for her contribution in the initial planning of this work. The help of Noragric department especially the student advisor was enormous, help was always there anytime l needed it, tusen takk! My sincere thanks to the Norges Handikapforbund (Norwegian Association of the Handicapped (NAD) and The Norwegian Association for Persons with Developmental Disabilities (NFU) for the partial financial support for this study project. Opportunity Zambia, especially Mr Alick Nyirenda is also acknowledged, this project would have been a nightmare without your input: introducing me to the sources was a great contribution and for that I am truly grateful. Thank you again! To my parents who died too soon to see this achievement: Thanks for the job well done, I am the person that I am today because of you, I know that every time you look down you feel proud of me, may your souls continue resting in peace. I would also like to extend my gratitude to my brothers and sisters for the moral support and understanding all the way through. Thanks to all my friends for nice laughter and stories which helped me to move on and finish, takk! Lastly l would like to express my gratitude to all the women who took part in this research project, taking their time off from their daily schedules to attend to an interview is something that humbled me, I pray and hope that one day your dreams should be realized. iv ABSTRACT Zambia is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and as such is expected to provide for people with disabilities. There are at present very few reports on the status of the lives and welfare of people with disabilities in Zambia. The purpose of this study was to identify the socio-cultural barriers that women living with disabilities in Kazungula and Livingstone districts experience in order to enjoy a full social life, placing emphasis on the status of their human rights. The CBR approach was used since it is a WHO approved method of rehabilitating and integrating people with disabilities into society. Livingstone and Kazungula districts were chosen as study areas to represent urban and rural areas. The study was performed qualitatively, and the data was collected through observations as well as individual interviews and focus group discussions. Barriers preventing women with disabilities from enjoying full social lives in these areas were physical, such as the lack of aids for the blind, interpreters or translators for the deaf, infrastructure to facilitate movement or access to buildings for the physically handicapped. In addition, poverty, dependence and negative attitudes were also identified as barriers. Poor education meant that the women could not compete favorably for formal employment and this made them unable to provide for their families especially that they did not receive any form of financial support from the government. On the cultural influence on families and relationship, the women in Kazungula were of the opinion that this was a significant barrier to social inclusion while their Livingstone counterparts responded otherwise. The respondents in Livingstone also had a much better knowledge of human rights and UNCRPD, than those in Kazungula who almost had no idea. In both districts, the responded felt that government was not doing enough to provide for them or to protect their human rights. The findings of this study suggest that women with disabilities in rural areas are at more disadvantaged than those in urban areas and therefore interventions should take into account this fact. The strongest basis for the barriers observed in this study was negative attitudes. In order to remove barriers, awareness campaigns aimed at changing people’s attitudes towards women with disabilities will be important. Secondly, having a job was found to be positively related to a satisfactory life style for the women with disabilities yet their educational v backgrounds disadvantaged them from acquiring employment. Introduction of programs that empower the women and encourage them to be self-reliant will be essential in removing some of the barriers faced by these women. Finally, CBR has the potential of turning things around because it’s social strategies allow different players to enter and offer different forms of support to the same community. This is important as it does not over-stretch the resources of one organization while maximizing the overall results. vi ABBREVIATIONS CBR Community-Based Rehabilitation DPO Disabled People’s Organization MMD Movement for Multiparty Democracy GRZ Government of the Republic of Zambia NAD Norwegian Association of the Handicapped OP Opportunity Zambia ILO International Labour Organisation PWD People living with Disabilities UNCRPD United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities UDHR Universal Declaration of Human Rights ZAFOD Zambia Federation of the Disabled ZAPD Zambia Agency for people with Disabilities ZHRC Zambia Human Rights Commissioner ZNAD Zambia National Association of the Deaf ZNADW Zambia National Association of Disabled Women vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Credit Page ……………………………………………...……………….……………..…i Declaration …………………..…………………………………………………………… ii Dedication ………………………………………………………………………...........…. iii Acknowledgement …………………………………………………………………........... iv Abstract …………………………………………………………………….……………….v Abbreviations……………………………………………………………….……………... vii Chapter 1 Introduction ……………………………………………………….....…….. 1 1.1 Background of the study …………………………………………................................... 1 1.2 Research question and objectives ………………………………………………...….…. 3 1.3 Methodology ……………………………………………………………....….….....….. 4 1.4 Research methods ..……………………………………………….…..…………..…..… 6 1.5 Research ethics …..……………………………………………………………….....….. 7 1.6 Overview of chapters ………...………………………………......................................... 8 Chapter 2 Zambia ..…………………………….…………………………….......…….. 9 2.1 Overview …………………………………..…………………………………...…….…. 9 2.2 Politics ……………………………………………………..…………………...…….…. 9 2.3 Economics …………………………………………....……………………………....... 10 2.4 Research area……………………………………………...…………………..…………11 Chapter 3 Disability, human rights, UNCRPD and CBR …………………....……... 13 3.1 Disabilities ..……………………………………..…………………...…………………. 13 3.2 Human rights …………………..……………………………………………......……… 14 3.3 Rights of Persons with disabilities in Zambia …………………………………….......... 15 3.4 UNCRPD .........................................................................................................................