Marriage for women in Zimbabwe has been very unfavorable to them as a result of not having equal rights to property acquisition and this, in turn, leaves them homeless and at loss after a divorce or husbands loss.
This to me is another angle of gender inequality as women and men are not equal and this affects their lives. The differences between men and women emanate from their biological, psychological and cultural norms. As it is said that the root cause of gender equality is embedded in what role a society or culture assigns to each gender.
This is quite evident in Zimbabwe marriage law where there is a minimal provision of property security to women who lose their husband to death or to another valid reason for divorce. The laws on marriage and divorce are not in line with the country’s constitution, of them having equal rights and them living in partnership. The marriage bill that was introduced in January 2017 needs the parliament to broaden the scope of the law such that it can protect women that are married to their spouse but are not legally binding under the customary law in regards to their equal right to property rights during marriage, divorce or death of a spouse.
Although Zimbabwe has a separate law governing the dissolution of marriage called the Matrimonial Causes Act that allows for equitable distribution of property between spouses at divorce, direct and indirect contributions to raising children and family care it has not reflected in how things are for attended based on this subject topic. Majority of these women in Zimbabwe are not married under the registered customary unions and most women lose their properties when their spouse dies or the men or his family keep all the property to themselves. This is an epitome of gender inequality.
The first step to combat this gender inequality in Zimbabwe’s marriage is to provide full protection that will detail marital property rights and equality for spouses both during marriage and during its dissolve.
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