Gender Affirmative Action: Reflections on Fair Equality of Opportunity Regarding Female Student Quotas in Public Higher Education Institutions in Lusaka

Affirmative action policies have been lauded for contributing to equality and, at the same time, criticized for perpetuating reverse discrimination. In Zambia, women’s empowerment and the steps that need to be taken socially, culturally, economically, politically, and legally to ensure women’s empowerment and gender equality are topical discussions. Part of these efforts yielded gender affirmative action policies pronounced in the National Gender Policy of 2012 and 2014 and enshrined in the Gender Equity and Equality Act of 2016. However, the implementation of gender affirmative action policies, particularly female quotas in Zambia, has sparked considerable debate. Questions have arisen regarding the constitutionality of female student quotas and their long-term effects on human rights. Concerns persist over whether these affirmative action policies result in reverse discrimination, undermine human rights by perpetuating inequality, or subject women to being perceived as needing special treatment. In Zambian higher education, the broader implications of female student quotas in admissions and sponsorship with regard to human rights and constitutional legality remain underexplored. This paper addresses these emerging issues by critically examining the legality of female student quotas in public higher education and their effect on human rights. The paper presents the reflections of a sample of higher education administrators, academicians, and students on female student quotas for admissions and sponsorship in three public universities in Zambia. The paper utilizes qualitative research, founded in critical social analysis theory, to reveal how female student quotas, particularly their consideration in admissions and sponsorship into higher education, have undermined constitutional and human rights precepts on equality. Through in-depth interviews, the participants contest female student quotas for admissions and sponsorship and illuminate the issues arising from a tilted focus on females in accessing higher education. The participants call for alternatives in policies that focus on merit and socioeconomic status-based considerations instead of gender. The paper gives a voice to academicians, administrators, and students whose insights may contribute to constitutional legality and adherence to human rights in higher education with regard to admissions and sponsorship. The paper concludes that affirmative action policies, particularly female quotas, in public tertiary education in Zambia need to be restructured to reflect evolving social dynamics and to ensure policies that adapt over time remain inclusive and firmly rooted in intersectional sensitivity to both gender and socioeconomic disadvantage, ensuring that support mechanisms uplift all those who are genuinely least advantaged, based not solely on their gender.