Muwina, an assistant priest to Canon William Vwapu, was reported in The Weekly Angel newspaper of 12 to 18 December urging the younger generation to redress gender imbalances in the church in the southern African nation.

"We must deliberately encourage a policy in which women are not looked down upon. The problem is that in the Anglican church, we look down on women as is the case in secular society," said Muwina.

He cited places like Britain and the United States where women, he said, were allowed to serve as lay leaders and in formal leadership roles including that of priest.

The (Anglican) Church of the Province of Central Africa includes Botswana, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. In Zambia, Anglicans represent about two per cent or 225 000 people out of a population of 11.2 million.

The province is among 14 out of 37 churches belonging to the worldwide Anglican Communion that do not ordain women as priests, the (Anglican) Church of England has reported.

"The time has indeed come for the Provincial Synod to change the system of gender segregation in the Anglican church," said Muwina. "We are hoping that in no distant future, we can witness women serving as priests in Zambia, Malawi, Botswana and Zimbabwe."

Another priest, the Rev. Samuel Zulu, said it was imperative to promote gender equality to match the commitments of the Southern Africa Development Community which states that women should occupy at least 30 per cent of decision making positions in the grouping's member countries.

The Rev. Yobe Jere of Kaunda Square parish also noted: "It is wrong to regard women as being inferior to males when both are God's creation. We must fight these traditional and cultural briefs which paint women as secondary beings."