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However, many children fail to access this basic right because they do not have identity documents to enable them to enrol at school or sit public examinations. The lack of identity papers frustrates even the good intentions of Government through the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) and other donor agencies who are willing to assist children access standard education because ultimately the assisted children will not sit any public examination unless they have identity documents.
In the face of donor fatigue and increasing number of orphans, the investments and assets commonly referred to as deceased estates left by parents should be used for paying for the education of the children. Unfortunately for many orphans, the money or assets that should be paying for their education is being looted by some people masquerading as genuine, loving relatives.
I will try to explain the issues of marriage and law, marriage and assets, marriage and child rights, birth and death registration, guardianship and maintenance of orphans, inheritance and property rights especially targeting children and women.
In the context of HIV and Aids, identity (birth and death certificates), inheritance and property rights for children and women are critical as they have the potential to break the cycle of poverty and reduce vulnerability to HIV infection. Identity and inheritance and also on women’s ability to look after children and act as capable caregivers.
A birth certificate is a document that gives legal identity to a child. It is like a passport to access other rights like education, health care, travel documents, employment, voting, family inheritance, property ownership among many others. A child without it loses opportunities to realise these other rights. While birth registration is a basic right to all children, it remains very difficult to attain in Zimbabwe. There are various reasons responsible for this. They include lack of awareness of laws for birth registration, general lack of awareness of the importance of registration by parents or caregivers, time consuming process of securing registration, lack of assistance, high costs involved and inaccessibility of registration offices for those living in rural areas and user unfriendly requirements.
Children who cannot be registered are denied their rights to access education that can further enable them to access other rights.
Many children in Bulawayo and other provinces cannot be admitted in schools or cannot sit for public examinations because they do not have birth certificates. Eventually they will be forced out of school, increasing the likelihood of reduced ability to look after themselves and likely to resort to transactional sex or petty crimes to survive, fostering increasing vulnerability to HIV and Aids.
The parental death certificate is the only proof of orphanhood and not the burial order. Children who cannot access the parental death certificates cannot access benefits or assistance meant for orphans. There are organisations that offer education assistance but children who cannot prove orphanhood cannot access such assistance. They cannot access Government assistance programmes meant for orphans as well; even if some can do they do so as beggars.
Orphans who were not registered at the time of their parents’ deaths cannot be registered unless and until they have access to their parent’s death certificates. This is also a hindrance to their access to education.
The parental death certificate is used when a child wants national documents like identity cardsand passports and also used as proof of death for purposes such as accessing deceased’s pensions, inheritance or other benefits and when applying for guardianship.
It is the role of the parents to pay for the education of their children. However as HIV and Aids takes its toll on parents with minor children, children are left exposed and vulnerable. The death of parents is one of the major causes of school dropouts. Deceased estates should take over the role that was played by the parents. Estate assets or inheritance can be rented out, or sold to help pay for the children’s education and general costs of living.
However, if children are denied the rights to inherit parents’ deceased estates, their right to education will be negatively affected.
The current set up is that children mainly inherit from their mothers who would have inherited from their husbands; therefore if the women are denied the rights to inheritance and property rights ownership, children will thus be affected.
Inheritance can be a reliable source of economic empowerment for children and women.
*Pumulani Mpofu is the programmes manager at Trinity Project Trust and can be contacted via email: [email protected] or cellphone number 0773195055 or 09-883102
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