Zimbabwean Court Rules Against Law That Denies Abortion To Marital Rape Victims And Girls Below 18
A Zimbabwean High Court ruling has declared that denying pregnant girls under the age of 18 and women raped by their husbands access to abortion is unconstitutional.
In his ruling handed down on November 22 and made public this week, Judge Maxwell Takuva said since Zimbabwe’s laws already criminalize marital rape and sex with a minor, victims should be allowed to abort if they become pregnant.
Following the new development, Justice Takuva’s ruling has been hailed as a significant step forward in protecting the rights of women and children in the country.
Justice Takuva found that Section 2(1) of the Termination of Pregnancy Act [Chapter 15:10] violates constitutional protections of dignity and the right to protection from degrading treatment. He said:
“The dignity of adolescent children who are impregnated and married women who are raped is adversely affected by the provisions of s 2(1) of the Act.”
In his judgment, Takuva referenced Zimbabwe’s Constitution, emphasizing that everyone is entitled to dignity in both private and public life. He pointed out that s3xual intercourse with minors is unlawful, adding, “Sex with a minor is therefore unconstitutional, and any pregnancy arising from such intercourse must be treated as unlawful.”
The ruling sheds light on the dire conditions faced by child mothers, describing forced pregnancy as a form of abuse.
Justice Takuva cited medical expert Dr Nawal Nour, who stated, “Girls aged 10–14 are 5–7 times more likely to die from childbirth compared to women above 20.”
He called the situation a “major human rights issue,” noting that child pregnancies in Zimbabwe are often driven by poverty.
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Takuva emphasized that forcing children to carry pregnancies without access to safe abortion perpetuates poverty and suffering. He stated:
“Teenage pregnancies foster poverty and cyclical reproduction of poverty. It is torture, cruel and degrading treatment for a child to carry another child.”
The High Court ruling now awaits confirmation by the Constitutional Court of Zimbabwe. Human rights lawyer Tendai Biti, representing Women in Law in Southern Africa and Talent Forget, praised the judgment, calling it a step toward justice.
Biti said:
“Children were dying by the thousands in illegal and unsafe abortions. This small victory hopefully closes the chapter of child mothers in Zimbabwe.”
Justice Takuva concluded by highlighting the constitutional breach, stating,
“Failure to include pregnancy of a minor and marital rape as unlawful intercourse violates the right to human dignity, protected under section 51 of the Constitution.”
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This landmark ruling could reshape abortion access in Zimbabwe, particularly for the country’s most vulnerable citizens.
The country of 15 million people records about 77,000 unsafe abortions annually, but many others go unreported. Many girls and women die from abortion complications each year, according to the United Nations children’s agency, UNICEF.
Teen pregnancies are rife in the southern African country because of lax enforcement of laws, cultural and religious practices and widespread poverty that also make it difficult for girls and women to access contraceptives and clinics.
Almost one of every four girls falls pregnant between the ages of 10 and 19, according to figures by the government and UNICEF.
One of every three girls is wed before age 18 in the deeply conservative southern African country where girls are usually culturally forced to marry men responsible for their unplanned pregnancies.