Masonde Mwango¹, Hanson Chishimba^1,

This study examined the role of Civil Society Organisation’s (CSOs) in enhancing women’s participation in political governance in Zambia. Despite Zambia’s commitment to gender equality through national and international frameworks, women’s representation in political decision-making remains disproportionately low. The study was operationalized through determination of the extent of women’s participation in political governance, as well as the establishment of the approaches used by CSOs to enhance this participation and identify the challenges faced by women in the political sphere. The study adopted a mixed-methods design combining both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Data was collected using a questionnaire and interview guide from a sample of civil society organisations and political parties. It was analysed using IBM SPSS and thematic analysis was adopted to analyse qualitative data. Findings revealed that while women’s involvement in political activities has moderately improved in recent years, it remains inadequate in achieving gender parity. The study established that CSOs have been essential in advocacy, capacity-building, sensitisation and lobbying for gender-responsive legislation and policy reforms. However, persistent barriers such as entrenched patriarchal norms, inadequate financial resources, weak political party support structures and limited implementation of gender policies continue to constrain women’s full participation in governance. The research also noted that the impact of CSO interventions has been uneven due to fragmented coordination and insufficient funding. The study concluded that achieving gender-balanced governance in Zambia requires bridging the gap between policy commitments and actual implementation.

Civil Society Organisations, Women’s Political Participation, Gender Equality