Zimbabwe’s High Court has declared unconstitutional a law prohibiting abortion services for women raped by their husbands and for girls under the age of 18.
In a groundbreaking ruling delivered on November 22 and made public this week, Judge Maxwell Takuva stated that since Zimbabwean law already criminalizes marital rape and sexual relations with minors, victims of these crimes should have the right to terminate pregnancies resulting from such abuse.
The ruling marks a significant development in a country where restrictive abortion laws frequently push women and girls to seek unsafe and illegal backstreet procedures, often with fatal consequences.
Under Zimbabwe’s existing laws, abortion is permitted only in limited circumstances, such as when the pregnancy endangers the woman’s life or if the unborn child is at risk of severe physical or mental disability. Legal abortion is also allowed in cases of unlawful sexual conduct, including incest. However, the Termination of Pregnancy Act has long denied access to abortion services for minors, even in cases of rape or abuse.
The judge’s decision aligns with Zimbabwe’s September legislation raising the age of sexual consent to 18, following a Constitutional Court directive. Despite this progress, underage girls remained barred from legal abortion services until this recent ruling.
“There is no doubt that it is torture, cruel, and degrading treatment for a child to carry another child, for a child to give birth to another child, or for a child to be forced to seek illegal abortions due to cruel circumstances,” Judge Takuva stated. He emphasized that providing safe and legal abortion services for minors is crucial, citing the alarming rates of teenage pregnancies and unsafe abortions in the country.
The ruling must still receive approval from Zimbabwe’s Constitutional Court to become legally binding. The case was brought forward by a women’s rights organization, and the government did not oppose the petition.
Zimbabwe, a nation of 15 million people, records approximately 77,000 unsafe abortions annually, though many more go unreported. According to UNICEF, complications from these procedures lead to significant mortality rates among women and girls.
Teen pregnancies remain a pervasive issue in Zimbabwe, driven by weak enforcement of child protection laws, entrenched cultural and religious practices, and widespread poverty. These factors also limit access to contraceptives and healthcare services.
Statistics from the government and UNICEF reveal that nearly one in four girls in Zimbabwe becomes pregnant between the ages of 10 and 19, and one in three girls is married before reaching 18. In many cases, cultural norms force young girls to marry the men responsible for their unplanned pregnancies, perpetuating cycles of poverty and abuse.
(AP)
