Gender Forum Discussion: Zimbabwean Marriages

 “Zimbabwe has two marriage laws: the Marriages Act [Chapter 5:11], and the Customary Marriages Act [Chapter 5:07]. Due to the dual system of customary and general law that is used in Zimbabwe, these types of marriages have been given different status by the law with negative consequences on women’s rights.

In addition there is an Unregistered Customary Law Marriage which unlike the former two marriages, is not valid at law. Upon separation or divorce, a spouse can only get property or a share of it if she can prove to have purchased or contributed towards it because the Matrimonial Causes Act does not apply to this type of marriage.

The Marriages Act [Chapter 5:11] discriminates against women in the sense that it sets different age limits for marriage between females and males.
Under this legislation, a man may marry at the minimum age of eighteen while a woman may marry at the minimum age of sixteen. This makes the girl child more vulnerable to early marriages, early pregnancies and premature motherhood. Furthermore, the assumption in this legislation that girls
attain maturity at an earlier age than boys is patently wrong and discriminatory based on sex.

The Customary Marriages Act [Chapter 5:07] allows men to have as many wives as they want, but does not accord the same privilege to women. Under this Act, a husband can sue for adultery but the wife cannot do the same. In the advent of HIV/AIDS, this presents special problems to women who at most times do not have the power or the authority to ask their husbands to practice safe sex even when they know that their husbands have multiple sex partners.” – quoted from www.hrforumzim.com

How many women in Zimbabwe know and understand these laws? What advantages are there in registered marriages?  “Customary marriages predominate in rural areas, where it is the union in 80 per cent of households,” reports www.genderindex.org. How are these women generally socialized or prepared for marriage?

As Zimbabwe joins the rest of the world to celebrate International Women’s Day on the 8th of March under the theme “Equal Rights – Equal Opportunities – Progress for All’, on Tue, 9 Mar, 2010, 5.30-7pm, the Gender Forum at the Book Cafe once again tries to prompt discussion on a pertinent issue that affects a huge percentage of  Zimbabwean women.  

Started in Nov, 2009 by Pamberi Trust an arts development organisation based at The Book Café in Harare the forum is aimed at contributing to initiatives of advancing gender equality and promoting women’s rights in Zimbabwe.  The Gender Forum has successfully managed to attract attendance from a varied cross section of the Harare’s population.  This is a monthly discussion,targeting human rights activists, members of civic society, women artists and members of the general public. 

The discussion is FREE and all are welcome.