UPR Sexual Rights Database

"Midterm Report:
The new Constitution provides for a reserved quota for women in the National Assembly and proportional representation in the Senate. As a result, Zimbabwe has witnessed an increase in representation of women in Parliament as they make up 32% in the National Assembly and 48% of Senate, which constitutes a total 34% of the current Parliament. The Constitution further calls upon government to ensure full gender balance and to take measures to promote the full participation of women in all spheres on the basis of equality with men. This includes equal representation in all institutions, agencies of government, commissions and other elective bodies at all levels.

UN Compilation:
Para 23) The Committee commended efforts to apply temporary special measures allowing women to access loans under the small and medium-sized enterprises policy in 2010 ….

Stakeholder Summary
Para 24) JS7 stated that at the 2011 review, Zimbabwe agreed to implement measures to prohibit discrimination against women, address the marginalization and exclusion of women from the economic, social and political spheres. The 2013 Constitution protected women’s rights and prohibited discrimination on basis of gender. However, the envisaged equality had not translated into social and economic empowerment for women"

National Report:
Para 101) In 2020, the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Corporation (SMEDCO) disbursed ZWL$$83,800,000 to 219 small and medium enterprises (SMEs), of which ZWL$69,261,172 was disbursed to projects affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. A total of 957 jobs were sustained and 360 jobs were created. The gender composition of SME projects supported is shown in Annexure Fig 7.
Para 102) The GoZ funds the Women’s Development Fund, whose purpose is to provide loans to women’s groups without collateral. In 2020, 40 projects in 6 of the 10 provinces of the country were funded62. ZWL$10,050,000 was loaned to 200 women who are in the agriculture, mining, manufacturing, tourism and retailing sectors.
Para 108) When looking at the participation of women in the labour force, the 2019 Labour Force and Child Labour Survey estimated that there were overall employment and unemployment rates of 84% and 16% respectively. Amongst those who were employed, 57% were male and 43% were female. The unemployment rate for females was slightly higher than for males, with females at 17.2% and males at 15.7%. There was also a wide disparity on the Employment to Population Ratio (EPR). The EPR among the male population was 44.4% whilst for females it was 28.5%. Among people who were employed at management level in the country, the proportion of women was 33.7%. This is a notable increase when compared to the 27.9% which was found by a similar survey in 2014. More information on the occupations held by women in Zimbabwe is shown in the table below.
Para 111) The Marriages Bill which harmonises all marriage laws, bans child marriages, sets the minimum age of all marriages at 18 and protects children from sexual exploitation is before Parliament.
Para 112) Despite the best efforts of Government to end child marriages, there are a number of factors that tend to militate against progress. These include lack of cooperation by family members of the victim, especially where the perpetrator has promised to pay compensation or bride price, ignorance of the law due to the fact that community awareness campaigns have not yet reached all parts of the country, and belief systems including religion.
Para 113) Government is making efforts to address these challenges by ensuring that all children remain in school by providing compulsory and State funded basic education, broadening awareness raising campaigns, and expediting the processing of court cases, among other measures.

National Report Annex:
A national plan of action to combat the practice of child marriage is being developed.

Despite Government’s efforts to end child marriages, it faces a number of challenges which are slowing down progress. They include lack of cooperation by family members of the victim, especially where the perpetrator has promised to pay compensation or brideprice, ignorance of the law due to the fact that community awareness campaigns have not yet reached all parts of the country, and belief systems including religion. Government is trying to address these challenges by ensuring that all children remain in schooI by providing compulsory and State funded basic education, broadening awareness raising campaigns, and expediting the processing of court cases.

The Marriage Bill, which is currently going through Parliament, will set the minimum age for marriage at 18 years. The Children’s Amendment Bill will safeguard against child marriages and also set 18 years as the minimum marriageable age. Government will enforce these laws once they are enacted.

UN Compilation:
Para 7) … CEDAW expressed concern at the long delays in amending legislation subsidiary to the Constitution and by the remaining discriminatory provisions in the legislative framework, including provisions on marriage and property rights and on the minimum age for marriage.
Para 26) CEDAW expressed concern about the persistence of discriminatory gender stereotypes and harmful practices, including child marriage, polygamy and virginity testing. It was particularly concerned about the widespread impunity for such harmful practices and the absence of convictions in cases of child marriage.
Para 64)The United Nations country team stated that there was limited political will to implement policies that protected and empowered women. Women’s empowerment programmes were underresourced and women had limited access to finance, land and freehold property. Women had limited opportunities to influence policy and continued to face legal, cultural and patriarchal barriers.
Para 66) In 2020, the CEDAW expressed its appreciation for the recognition by Zimbabwe of Sustainable Development Goal 5, on achieving gender equality and empowering women, as a priority area within the framework of the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socioeconomic Transformation.
Para 69) CEDAW noted the prevalence of child marriage, with one third of girls being married before they reached the age of 18 years, …
Para 70) The United Nations country team stated that the enactment of the Marriages Bill setting the minimum age of marriage at 18 years was facing inordinate delays. The Children’s Amendment Bill which, when enacted, would criminalize child marriage, was undergoing legislative processes. A national action plan to end child marriage was being implemented.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 3) Referring to relevant supported recommendations from the previous review, ZHRC noted that: … (e) women continued to face barriers to political and private participation and remained under represented at senior and management levels, and (f) there were high incidents of violence against women and girls, which was exacerbated by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
Para 15) JS5 … noted the lack of exclusive gender equality legislation.
Para 18) ADH stated that although laws on personal status matters, such as marriage and divorce, were generally equitable, customary practices placed women at a disadvantage. JS19 stated that achieving gender parity remained a challenge and that women continued to be marginalized in many contexts.
Para 83) JS20 stated that the COVID-19 pandemic and the general economic crisis severely impacted women and girls. Women were over represented in the informal economy and in agriculture, were among those living in poverty and those holding low paying jobs in the formal economy. ECLJ stated that in the rural regions, poor families, especially amidst the worsening poverty aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic, would often forcibly marry off their daughter to receive financial compensation in the form of a “bride price” that was paid to the family by the groom.
Para 88) JS19 stated that a sharp increase in teenage pregnancy and child marriage was reported during the COVID-19 related lockdown. JS14 stated that there was no government plan to address teenage pregnancy and early marriage.

UN Compilation:
Para 7) … CEDAW expressed concern at the long delays in amending legislation subsidiary to the Constitution and by the remaining discriminatory provisions in the legislative framework, including provisions on marriage and property rights and on the minimum age for marriage.
Para 47) CEDAW expressed concern that discriminatory customary laws and practices continued to regulate marriage and family relations, allowing for harmful practices such as polygamy.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 15) JS5 stated the Marriages Bill, which presented an opportunity to reconcile the ambiguities and gaps that persisted in the Marriage Act and the Customary Marriages Act, contained inconsistencies which may encumber the realization of women’s rights. It also noted the lack of exclusive gender equality legislation.
Para 18) ADH stated that although laws on personal status matters, such as marriage and divorce, were generally equitable, customary practices placed women at a disadvantage. JS19 stated that achieving gender parity remained a challenge and that women continued to be marginalized in many contexts.

"National Report:
Para 58) The Public Health Act [Chapter 15:09] provides for the protection of public health, including prevention and suppression of infectious and sexually transmitted diseases …

Para 62) The availability of vital medicines at institutions by the end of 2013 was 66.6%. With development partner support, which is targeted at the communities, 87.2% of primary health care facilities have at least 80% of selected essential medicines. Government has removed customs duty on all imported anti-malarial medicines and commodities and permitted local pharmaceutical companies to produce anti-retroviral drugs. Government has a bilateral agreement for doctors and other health professionals with countries such as Cuba to alleviate shortage of doctors in the country.

Para 63) Government is scaling up Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) services to reduce morbidity and mortality due to HIV and AIDS through: making drugs available and accessible; offering patients ARVs free of charge; training primary counsellors in rapid HIV testing; establishing sites offering ART services; and mobilising and empowering communities to support improved access to care and support.

Para 126) Despite facing economic challenges, Government remains committed to making funding mechanisms in the social services sector such as BEAM and AMTO viable. It is engaging development partners to continue supporting these mechanisms as well as others such as the Health Development Fund and the Child Protection Fund while it pursues ways of fully funding them from its own resources. For example, Government established the National AIDS Trust Fund, which is funded through the AIDS Levy, to cater for those living with HIV and AIDS (about 1.4 million people are living with HIV and AIDS, of which about 800,000 are receiving treatment). Government plans to introduce a national health insurance scheme to ensure that all persons, especially the vulnerable, can have access to proper health care.

Midterm report
The new Constitution makes specific provision for the right to health care. The right includes the right of every person living with a chronic illness to have access to basic healthcare services for the illness and the requirement that no person may be refused emergency medical treatment in any health-care institution.

More health institutions have been created to ensure that the majority of the population is within a 10 kilometre radius of a health centre. This is the country’s set standard within the Primary Health Care Approach which was adopted when Zimbabwe signed the 2008 Ouagadougou Declaration on Primary Healthcare and Health Systems in Africa. Following this, priority has been placed on revitalising the health care delivery system to ensure an effective and efficient referral system and emergency services. Most primary care facilities are functional as they continue to benefit from both Government and donor resources.

The availability of vital medicines at institutions by the end of 2013 was 66.6%. With development partner support, which is targeted at the communities, 87.2% of primary health care facilities have at least 80% of selected essential medicines.

Government is scaling up Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) services to reduce morbidity and mortality due to HIV and AIDS through :
• making drugs available and accessible;
• offering patients ARVs free of charge;
• training primary counsellors in rapid HIV testing;
• establishment of sites offering ART services; and
• mobilising and empowering communities to support improved access to care and support.

UN Compilation:
Para 79) The country team stated that while the States signatories to the Abuja Declaration on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Other Related Infectious Diseases had called upon countries to allocate at least 15 per cent of their gross domestic product to the health sector, Zimbabwe only allocated 9.73 per cent in 2016

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 69) JS8 stated that during the 2011 review, Zimbabwe supported recommendations related to the continuation of efforts to reduce HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis as well as mortality rate caused by HIV, and development of a financing mechanism to help the underprivileged. Despite support for those recommendations, children continue to experience difficulties in accessing health services.

Para 70) JS7 stated that at the 2011 review, Zimbabwe undertook to continue efforts to reduce HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis with the assistance of development partners. In 2012, the HIV Combination Prevention Strategy relating to prevention interventions was adopted. Anti-Retroviral Therapy services was increased with the drugs being available and accessible free of charge"

"National Report:
Para 5) As reported in the Mid-Term Report, Zimbabwe held a referendum in 2013 which resulted in the adoption of a new Constitution with an expansive Declaration of Rights. The Constitution strengthened the institutional framework for the promotion and protection of human rights by either establishing new institutions, such as … the Zimbabwe Gender Commission
Para 11) The National Gender Policy has been reviewed and aligned to the Constitution and international and regional human rights instruments, which include the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development. It also takes cognisance of the UPR recommendations. The policy promotes equal representation in all institutions, agencies of government, commissions and elective bodies at all levels. The GoZ is aligning all pieces of legislation and in the process incorporating the principle of equal gender representation.

Para 12) Government has called for gender based budgeting at all levels to ensure mainstreaming of gender issues.

Para 16) As indicated in Mid-Term Report, the Constitution provides for Independent Commissions which support the promotion and protection of human rights and democracy. The Zimbabwe Gender Commission Act was enacted in February 2016, paving the way for the operationalisation of the Commission, while a bill to operationalise the NPRC is under consideration. The ZHRC, ZEC and the ZMC are fully operational

Para 27) Public awareness campaigns have been carried out at annual commemorations such as: the International Day of the Child; the Day of the African Child; the International Day of Disabled Persons; International Women’s Day …

Para 35) As reported above, the Constitution has established new independent institutions such as the Zimbabwe Gender Commission and the NPRC. The Gender Commission is now operational.

Para 53) In relation to issues of gender equality, section 27(2) of the Constitution states that the State must take measures to ensure that girls are afforded the same opportunities as boys to obtain education at all levels. While the 2014 Education Management Information System shows that gender parity has been achieved at primary and lower secondary levels, the participation rate for girls at upper secondary level is still at 44%. More girls are being encouraged to proceed to upper secondary level and beyond through interventions that address the problems that cause girls to drop out of school

Para 86) The Broad Based Women Economic Empowerment Framework is being implemented and has resulted in an increase in women’s participation in economic sectors such as agriculture and mining. The Women’s Development Fund is in place and Government is working towards establishing a Women’s Bank to improve access to affordable finances by women and facilitate financial inclusion by decentralising the banking system.

Midterm Report:
Laws are being reviewed in order to harmonise them with the new Constitution.

A review of the Public Order and Security Act with the view of aligning it with the Constitution and the Human rights standards is underway.

Zimbabwe adopted a new Constitution which is progressive in terms of advancing women’s rights. Unlike the previous Constitution, the new Constitution specifically provides for the rights of women and gender equality. The Constitution now absolutely prohibits discrimination against women, unlike the previous Constitution which allowed exceptions especially with regard to the application of customary law. Furthermore, the Constitution provides for the establishment of a Gender Commission whose functions will include monitoring issues concerning gender equality with a view to ensuring gender equality as provided in the Constitution and investigating possible violations of rights relating to gender.

The new Constitution provides for a reserved quota for women in the National Assembly and proportional representation in the Senate. As a result, Zimbabwe has witnessed an increase in representation of women in Parliament as they make up 32% in the National Assembly and 48% of Senate, which constitutes a total 34% of the current Parliament. The Constitution further calls upon government to ensure full gender balance and to take measures to promote the full participation of women in all spheres on the basis of equality with men. This includes equal representation in all institutions, agencies of government, commissions and other elective bodies at all levels.

The National Gender Policy has been reviewed and aligned to international and regional human rights instruments, which include CEDAW, SADC Protocol on Gender and Development and UPR recommendations. The Broad Based Women Economic Empowerment Framework is being implemented and has resulted in a marginal increase in women’s participation in economic sectors such as agriculture and mining. The Women’s Development Fund is still in place

Research on family laws has been carried out and a position paper has been developed.

UN Compilation:
Para 23) The Committee commended efforts to apply temporary special measures allowing women to access loans under the small and medium-sized enterprises policy in 2010 ….

Stakeholder Summary
Para 24) JS7 stated that at the 2011 review, Zimbabwe agreed to implement measures to prohibit discrimination against women, address the marginalization and exclusion of women from the economic, social and political spheres. The 2013 Constitution protected women’s rights and prohibited discrimination on basis of gender. However, the envisaged equality had not translated into social and economic empowerment for women"

National Report:
Para 101) In 2020, the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Corporation (SMEDCO) disbursed ZWL$$83,800,000 to 219 small and medium enterprises (SMEs), of which ZWL$69,261,172 was disbursed to projects affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. A total of 957 jobs were sustained and 360 jobs were created. The gender composition of SME projects supported is shown in Annexure Fig 7.
Para 102) The GoZ funds the Women’s Development Fund, whose purpose is to provide loans to women’s groups without collateral. In 2020, 40 projects in 6 of the 10 provinces of the country were funded. ZWL$10,050,000 was loaned to 200 women who are in the agriculture, mining, manufacturing, tourism and retailing sectors.
Para 108) When looking at the participation of women in the labour force, the 2019 Labour Force and Child Labour Survey estimated that there were overall employment and unemployment rates of 84% and 16% respectively. Amongst those who were employed, 57% were male and 43% were female. The unemployment rate for females was slightly higher than for males, with females at 17.2% and males at 15.7%. There was also a wide disparity on the Employment to Population Ratio (EPR). The EPR among the male population was 44.4% whilst for females it was 28.5%. Among people who were employed at management level in the country, the proportion of women was 33.7%. This is a notable increase when compared to the 27.9% which was found by a similar survey in 2014. More information on the occupations held by women in Zimbabwe is shown in the table below.

UN Compilation:
Para 64)The United Nations country team stated that there was limited political will to implement policies that protected and empowered women. Women’s empowerment programmes were underresourced and women had limited access to finance, land and freehold property. Women had limited opportunities to influence policy and continued to face legal, cultural and patriarchal barriers.
Para 66) In 2020, the CEDAW expressed its appreciation for the recognition by Zimbabwe of Sustainable Development Goal 5, on achieving gender equality and empowering women, as a priority area within the framework of the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socioeconomic Transformation.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 3) Referring to relevant supported recommendations from the previous review, ZHRC noted that: … (e) women continued to face barriers to political and private participation and remained under represented at senior and management levels, and (f) there were high incidents of violence against women and girls, which was exacerbated by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
Para 15) JS5 … noted the lack of exclusive gender equality legislation.
Para 18) ADH stated that although laws on personal status matters, such as marriage and divorce, were generally equitable, customary practices placed women at a disadvantage. JS19 stated that achieving gender parity remained a challenge and that women continued to be marginalized in many contexts.
Para 83) JS20 stated that the COVID-19 pandemic and the general economic crisis severely impacted women and girls. Women were over represented in the informal economy and in agriculture, were among those living in poverty and those holding low paying jobs in the formal economy. ECLJ stated that in the rural regions, poor families, especially amidst the worsening poverty aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic, would often forcibly marry off their daughter to receive financial compensation in the form of a “bride price” that was paid to the family by the groom.