Zimbabwe’s recent history has been marked by a sluggish economy resulting largely from ineffective government policies. The economic decline has led to increased poverty for the population as a whole, with women – a more vulnerable group because their rights are already limited by traditional practices – being particularly hard hit.
In reality, women in Zimbabwe have lived under poor conditions for centuries. Although the country has made significant progress in terms of education, with literacy rates reaching 80 per cent for women and 90 per cent for men, this has not had the desired effect of reducing the restrictive nature of long-held customs.
Zimbabwe’s customary Family Code grants very few rights to women. There are three types of marriage: civil marriage, registered customary marriage and unregistered customary marriage. The latter predominates in rural areas, where it is the union in 80 per cent of households. The legal minimum age for civil marriage in Zimbabwe is 18 years for men and 16 years for women. The incidence of early marriage is decreasing, but remains quite high: a 2004 United Nations report estimated that 23 per cent of girls between 15 and 19 years of age were married, divorced or widowed. The high incidence of early marriage reflects a threat posed by unregistered customary marriages, which effectively make it possible for families to arrange marriages without their daughters’ consent. Other practices that undermine women’s freedom of choice include forced marriages between a widow and the brother of her deceased husband, or offering a young girl in marriage as compensation after a dispute between two families.
Polygamy is accepted by the traditional religions practised by three-quarters of the Zimbabwean population; about one in ten women live in polygamous unions. Such marriages are three times more frequent in rural communities than in urban areas, and the incidence is lower among women who have a secondary education. Polygamy is prohibited in civil marriages, which appears to be a factor in the high incidence of unregistered customary marriages.
Civil marriage grants spouses equal rights in regard to parental authority. However, in general, husbands exercise sole authority within the family in Zimbabwe, particularly in rural areas where customary marriage dominates and women are considered as perpetual minors. In the event of divorce after a civil marriage, custody of young children is usually granted to the mother and the father can be obliged to pay child support. The father may be given custody if the children are older, but courts decide according to the best interests of the children. In customary marriages, husbands can take all the children away from their mother, who has no legal recourse against such action.
Inheritance rights in Zimbabwe depend on the type of marriage. Under the rules of customary marriage, widows cannot inherit their husband’s property and daughters can inherit from their father only if there are no sons in the family. In some cases, sons who inherit the family home immediately sell it and evict their widowed mothers. Only the small minority of women who were married in civil ceremonies have the legal right to inherit property from their husbands.
The physical integrity of Zimbabwean women is not sufficiently protected. Violence against women, particularly domestic violence, is very common and occurs across society; men’s level of education does not appear to have an influence on their behaviour. In two-thirds of cases of violence against women, the perpetrator is the woman’s husband, partner or ex-husband; half of the cases involve both physical and sexual violence.
It is very difficult for women to defend themselves against such violence. At present, there is no specific legislation against it, and the police are not prepared to investigate. In fact, police often fail to respond to women’s complaints. Furthermore, the Zimbabwean courts have no power to order a violent spouse to leave the marital home. Rape victims typically do not file complaints for fear of social stigma.
An estimated one-third of women working in and around Harare (the capital of Zimbabwe) have been subjected to sexual harassment in the workplace.
Female genital mutilation is not widespread in Zimbabwe, but is practised by the Remba ethnic group, which represents a small proportion of the population. Within this group, mutilation is combined with infibulation, which involves closing the outer lips of the vulva.
Zimbabwe does not appear to be a country of concern in relation to missing women.
Zimbabwean women encounter significant discrimination in the matter of ownership rights. Access to land is essential for women; their survival often depends on growing subsistence crops. Yet women are rarely land owners. If land belongs to a village, customary law applies and land ownership is reserved for heads of households – typically men. Women are effectively excluded from ownership and have the right only to a life interest in the use of land, which must be granted by their husbands. In the event of divorce, women automatically lose this right of use. Widows are not entitled to inherit their husband’s land. When land belongs to the state, Zimbabwean civil law applies. In this case, women can own land under the terms of an agrarian reform programme, which made provision to reserve some land for women. Despite this measure, women still encounter significant resistance to land ownership.
Zimbabwean law recognises women’s rights to have access to property other than land. All women, whether single or married, are entitled to own property, which they retain if they do marry or subsequently divorce. According to civil law divorce proceedings, a woman’s contribution to the household is taken into account when dividing the couple’s joint property. This legislation does not apply in unregistered customary marriage, which does not allow women to own property jointly with their husbands.
Legislation allows women in Zimbabwe to have access to bank loans, but banks often ask for a husband’s consent or for guarantees that women are rarely able to provide. As a result, financial institutions grant very few loans to women. Some credit institutions are successfully targeting women and there are increasing numbers of women-only savings clubs, which give women access to financing.
The civil liberties of women in Zimbabwe are severely restricted by tradition. In principle, the law guarantees women’s freedom of movement, but in practice, most men exercise almost constant control over their wives’ actions. Some men forbid their wives from meeting up with friends or limit social contact to relationships within their own family circles. The custom of the lobola, a dowry paid by the bridegroom to the father of the bride, plays a significant role in perpetuating this type of confinement: a man who has “bought” his wife thinks he can treat her as he pleases. There are no reported restrictions on freedom of dress for women in Zimbabwe.
Afrol News (n.d.), Gender Profile: Zimbabwe, www.afrol.com/Categories/Women/profiles/zimbabwe_ women.htm. Accessed: November 2007.
Amnesty International (2007), Zimbabwe: Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Women Human Rights Defenders at Risk, Amnesty International, London.
CEDAW (Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women) (1996), Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 18 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women: Zimbabwe, Initial Periodic Report on States Parties, Cedaw/c/zwe/1, CEDAW, New York, NY.
Mushunje, M. (2001), Women’s Land Rights in Zimbabwe, The Land Tenure Center, Madison, WI.
Ngwenya, T. Strategic Litigation: Women’s Property Rights in Zimbabwe.
UN (United Nations) (2004), World Fertility Report 2003, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, New York, NY.
US Department of State (2007), Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Zimbabwe, US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Washington, DC.
Zimbabwe CSO (Central Statistical Office) (2007), Demographic and Health Survey 2005-2006, Zimbabwe CSO, Harare.
