Online Reporter
Daimon Phiri, Sunday News Correspondent
ON any weekday morning in Bulawayo, Gweru and parts of Harare, the scene is familiar.
While husbands leave for work, buses fill with commuters, and factories open their gates, a different kind of traffic moves in the opposite direction.
Groups of women, wrapped in white garments, make their way to apostolic shrines tucked in peri-urban bush, riverbanks, and open fields.
By 10am, some shrines host dozens, sometimes hundreds, of women alone.
The sight raises a question many ask quietly but few answer openly: Why are it mostly women at madzibaba shrines during working hours? And if the visits are in good faith, why do husbands rarely accompany their wives?
The answer lies at the intersection of faith, gender roles, economics and social pressure in Zimbabwe.
Faith as a space for women’s voices.
For many women, the shrine is one of the few public spaces where their concerns are heard without interruption.
“At home, a woman is expected to endure. At the shrine, she can speak about infertility, marital problems, illness, and poverty,” says Dr Tariro Mhlanga, a sociologist at the National University of Science and Technology.
Apostolic churches, particularly the Johanne Marange and Johanne Masowe groups, allow women to pray, prophesy and seek counsel directly.
In a society where many women still defer to male authority in the home and at mainstream churches, the shrine offers a sense of agency.
Timing and gendered labour
The timing is not accidental. Most shrine gatherings for women are held mid-morning on weekdays, precisely when men are at work and children are at school.
“It’s practical,” explains Apostle Peter Mutasa of an apostolic assembly in Mpopoma.
“Women have domestic duties in the morning. After that, they come for prayer and fellowship. Husbands cannot leave work for that.”
But the same timing creates a perception problem.
Because men are absent, outsiders assume secrecy or wrongdoing.
The unspoken problems women bring
Interviews with women at shrines reveal recurring themes: barrenness, sickness in the family, domestic violence, unemployment of husbands, and financial strain.
“In the church, we are told to fast and pray for our marriages. If I tell my husband I’m going to the shrine for this, he will say I’m disrespecting him,” said a 34-year-old mother of three from Cowdray Park.
For many, the shrine is the only place where they can seek spiritual intervention without confronting their husbands directly.
The shadow of abuse allegations
The trend is not without controversy. Over the past five years, Zimbabwe Republic Police have recorded cases where women reported sexual abuse at some shrines, often linked to self-proclaimed prophets.
ZRP spokespersons have repeatedly urged women to report such cases and warned against attending shrines where leaders demand isolation or secret rituals.
“It is true that some criminals use religion as a cover,” says a police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“But it is wrong to say all shrines are unsafe. The majority are legitimate places of worship.”
Apostolic church leaders have also condemned abuse.
The Zimbabwe Council of Apostolic Churches has expelled members found guilty of misconduct and now runs awareness programmes on safeguarding women and children at gatherings.
Why husbands stay away
Husbands rarely attend for three reasons, according to community leaders: work commitments, doctrinal differences, and stigma.
Many men belong to mainstream churches or identify as non-religious.
Attending a wife’s shrine is seen by some as admitting weakness or failure to provide spiritually.
“When a man goes to the shrine with his wife, people say he is bewitched or he can’t control his home,” says a community elder in Nketa.
The absence of men leaves women exposed to both spiritual manipulation and, in rare cases, exploitation.
What needs to change
Social workers and church leaders agree on three points:
1. Transparency: Shrines should operate in open, accessible areas, not isolated bush.
2. Safeguarding: Female guardians and church elders must be present at all women-only gatherings.
3. Dialogue at home: Couples need spaces to discuss marital and health issues without stigma, reducing the need for secrecy.
“The shrine is not the problem,” says Dr Mhlanga.
“The problem is when desperation meets unaccountable authority.”
Conclusion: A place of hope, not blame
For thousands of Zimbabwean women, the madzibaba shrine is a place of hope, prayer and community. It fills a gap left by economic hardship, limited healthcare, and restricted dialogue at home.
But the fact that women attend alone also reflects deeper social fractures — in marriages, in churches, and in how society handles women’s suffering.
If the trend is to continue without harm, it requires more than suspicion.
It requires protection, accountability, and honest conversation between husbands, wives and church leaders.
As one woman at a shrine in Luveve put it: “We don’t come here to hide from our husbands. We come here because we are tired of hiding from life.”
