Zambia Alliance of Women (ZAW) is a membership non-governmental organisation which was founded in 1978 to promote the themes of equality, development and peace. It was initially registered under the Societies Act in March 1982 and March 1993 it was registered as a Trustee under the Lands (Perpetual Succession Act of the Laws of Zambia.

ZAW’s mission is to empower women to take charge of their lives through promotion of Gender Equity and Equality, Environmental Sustainability and Social Justice so that the right to a healthy life is enjoyed by the present and future generation.

ZAW has over 3000 individual and community-based organisation members in 7 provinces of Zambia namely Eastern, Central, Lusaka, Southern, Western, Northwestern and Copperbelt, who constitute its General Assembly.It has a 7 member Board that is led by a woman in the role of Chairperson and has a staff base of 8 led by a woman in the role of Executive Director. ZAW has its Books of Accounts audited annually by external Auditors and follows well laid down guidelines of its Finance and Administration Manual and is governed by a Constitution.

ZAW has in the past 5 years been instrumental in advocating for Women Participation in Agricultural Decision-making, Environmental Sustainability and Women Land rights. For example, in partnership with Zambia Land Alliance, Non-Governmental Organization Coordinating Council (NGOCC) and Action Aid, ZAW implemented a project which aimed at advocating for women empowerment with productive resources including land as well as build capacities of women in conservation farming and sustainable land management. ZAW has also been implementing awareness raising activities on environmental policies and climate change, training in sustainable natural resources management, and advocating for gender equality in cooperatives as an entry point for women to participate in decision-making in the agricultural sector. Notable among these interventions is the “Enhancing the Democratic Voice of Women Farmers in Zambia” Project funded by the Royal Norwegian Embassy through the NGOCC basket fund; a project that has resulted in women taking up leadership positions in cooperatives and shift from the use of chemical to organic manure. Others include the “10,000 gardens” project by Slow Food International; and “the Women Caucus on Climate Smart Agriculture” funded by the African Women Development Fund. ZAW is currently among other interventions implementing a project “Enhancing Food Security through Sustainable Use and Management of Natural Resources” in three districts namely Choma, Petauke and Ndola funded by the European Union through the Non-Governmental Organisations Coordinating Council (NGOCC) whose objective is to empower rural women to own land and access farmer input support by 2018.

ZAW is in the process of rebranding under its Leadership and Governance Project funded by the African Women Development Fund. This project will see ZAW create a Website, develop a 5 year Strategic Plan, change its logo, hold an Annual General Meeting and revise its Policies and Constitution. A Coach has been assigned to conduct leadership training for individual leaders as well as the Board and Management training