Online Reporter
Robin Muchetu, Health and Gender Editor
ZIMBABWE’S traditional leaders are drawing a hard line in the sand: they will not allow abortion laws to be widened, claiming it’s an assault on African culture and morality.
Tempers flared in the Senate last week as traditional chiefs, led by Senator Chief Fortune Charumbira, rejected proposed amendments to the Termination of Pregnancy Act (1977), calling it a doorway to foreign influence and moral decay.
“We will shoot it down!” declared Chief Charumbira, who is also President of the Pan African Parliament. “This is very un-African. We are not Canada, Denmark or the United States. We must not copy other people’s cultures.”
The 1977 law, a colonial relic inherited at independence, permits abortion only under three conditions: when the mother’s life is at risk, when the unborn child is likely to suffer severe disability, or when the pregnancy is the result of unlawful intercourse such as incest or rape. Any termination outside those circumstances is illegal.
Charumbira made it clear that any attempt to expand those grounds will be met with fierce resistance.
“As traditional leaders, we are united. We are saying no to abortion. If a Bill is brought here to amend this law, we will oppose it with everything we have,” he said.
He accused lawmakers of promoting recklessness by allowing people to terminate pregnancies at will. “People must take responsibility. We are not going to support adult decisions that bring death to innocent unborn children. Abortion is not part of who we are.”
He added that the country’s culture, values and identity were at stake and that traditional leaders would not watch in silence while “foreign ideologies” were smuggled into Zimbabwe’s legislative framework.
Eighteen chiefs, he said, had already pledged to block any abortion amendments. “We’ll even get support from MPs across party lines. This is not a political issue. It’s cultural, it’s moral.”
Echoing his sentiments, Senator Rebecca Fanuel from Matabeleland North likened the proposed abortion reforms to a backdoor reintroduction of the death penalty, which the country recently rejected.
“There was joy when we abolished the death penalty. But now, if we support this motion, we are supporting death again — this time of our own children. And as women, we cannot be the ones to push that,” she said. “This will also promote prostitution, because we’ll be saying it’s okay to fall pregnant and just get rid of the baby.”
However, those calling for change argue the current law is outdated and fails to serve modern women dealing with complex realities.
Women’s Action Group Executive Director Edinah Masiyiwa said the law, over four decades old, does not reflect the needs of today’s Zimbabwean woman. She called for broader legal grounds for termination, including in cases of unwanted pregnancies or pregnancies that result from abuse.
“Many people, especially in rural areas, don’t even know the current law exists. They think abortion is completely illegal in Zimbabwe, which is not true,” said Masiyiwa. “This misinformation is dangerous because it forces women to seek unsafe methods. The law needs to evolve.”
Masiyiwa added that public awareness campaigns are urgently needed so that women know when and how they are legally allowed to terminate a pregnancy.
Advocates argue that sticking to a 1977 framework ignores the social, economic and health-related struggles women face today. They say the law must adapt to protect women, not punish them.
But traditional leaders remain firm: any reform that opens the door further will be met with a wall of cultural resistance.
“This is not about legalities, it’s about identity,” said Chief Charumbira. “We are African, and we cannot allow our children to grow up in a society where life is disposable.”
As Parliament prepares to revisit the controversial legislation, the battle lines are drawn. On one side: those calling for expanded reproductive rights. On the other: the guardians of tradition, determined to preserve Zimbabwe’s moral compass.
@NyembeziMu
