Zambia Council For Social Development - ZCSD

In March 2026, women’s rights actors and activists will meet, alongside their governments, at the United Nations-convened Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) under the theme “Ensuring and strengthening access to justice for all women and girls, including by promoting inclusive and equitable legal systems, eliminating discriminatory laws, policies, and practices, and addressing structural barriers."

Join the ZCSD Executive Director, Ms. Leah Mitaba and colleagues across the globe as they speak to this important conversation.

Yesterday, our Executive Director, Ms. Leah Mitaba, had the privilege of contributing to a side event at the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), convened by Forus international, a global network of platform organizations sick as ZCSD itself. The Executive Director reflected on the importance of ensuring that policies and budgets truly work for women and girls.

Drawing from our experience at the Zambia Council for Social Development (ZCSD), Ms. Mitaba shared how community engagement, through mechanisms such as Community Budget Groups, can strengthen accountability and help ensure that commitments to gender equality translate into real change on the ground.

In places like Monze District, collaboration between traditional leaders, local authorities, community members, and the media has demonstrated that when communities are empowered to track progress, transformation is possible. Through this approach, ZCSD saw a 33% increase in women and youths' representation in local elected office in a district that previously had none.

Moments like these reaffirm that advancing gender equality requires not only strong policies, but active citizens and accountable institutions.

ZCSD was grateful to Forus for the opportunity to share Zambia’s experience and learn from colleagues across the world.