The Dormant Clause: How the Failure of the Repugnancy Clause Has Allowed for Discrimination against Women in Zambia

Authors

Pamela Amaechi
Erica Mildner

Abstract

Zambia’s legal system combines unwritten customary law with post-colonial statutory law. However, select traditions clash with statutes promoting gender equality. Though the repugnancy clause promotes the supremacy of written law in discrimination cases, it has not been utilized effectively. This paper raises the sources behind the clause’s rare application and explores the possibility of utilizing the equal protection legal strategy employed by Botswana to prevent sex discrimination under customary law. This paper is based on a study of existing literature on the repugnancy clause in Southern Africa. Interviews were held with Boma and Chelstone Local Court Magistrates, as well as senior Local Court officials, women’s legal advocacy NGOs, and individual researchers. This research was conducted in Lusaka, Zambia during June and July 2013.

Recommended Citation

Amaechi, Pamela and Mildner, Erica (2014) "The Dormant Clause: How the Failure of the Repugnancy Clause Has Allowed for Discrimination against Women in Zambia," Southern African Journal of Policy and Development: Vol. 1: No. 1, Article 7.
Available at: https://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/sajpd/vol1/iss1/7