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“He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly,” says the holy book in Proverbs 13:24 (NKJV).
This piece of scripture has, for years, been relied upon by both the Christian and non-Christian communities to promote the use of corporal punishment in homes and schools as a way of instilling discipline in children.
And the scripture has, generation after generation, been religiously obeyed and has thus become deeply embedded in traditional and cultural practices here in Zimbabwe.
However, the age-old practice is about to be stopped for good.
This follows a High Court ruling by Justice David Mangota that parents and teachers must not beat up children, even if they misbehave.
Should the ruling be confirmed by a Constitutional bench, it would immediately be enforced, meaning parents can now be arrested for beating their children.
The judgment has, nevertheless, proved to be one of the most polarising High Court rulings among pressure groups, the church and society at large.
While it is victory for rights groups, the complete abolition of corporal punishment has been dismissed out of hand by parents, teachers, cultural and religious leaders.
“The ruling is for the right reasons but we fear that it will be misconstrued by students and civic organisations and therefore, create chaos in schools,” said Dr Takavafira Zhou, president of Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe.
“Corporal punishment has maintained sanity and decent grades in our schools compared to other countries which abolished it. So it should not be scrapped entirely but should stay and be implemented in a restricted manner, whereby it is administered by both the headmaster and the parent.”
Dr Zhou said unruly elements do exist among school children and will likely abuse their newly bestowed right.
“You will not deny that there are problem children and nuisances who would not be deterred by soft forms of punishment,” he said.
“For example we have bullies in schools, in most cases this kind will only be restrained through corporal punishment.”
A parent only identified as Ndaba expressed his opinion on one of our websites, saying the ruling is tantamount to domination by a foreigner culture.
Ndaba said proposed alternative punishments, such as denying children certain priviledges, do not work in poor communities.
“I think the High Court is failing us and over stepping,” said Ndaba.
“This is a foreign cult that will return to haunt many families. Outlawing child beating will bring stubbornness and lack of respect as most families are so poor that there are hardly any priviledges to take away. In Europe, there are children that are so spoilt and rude to the extent that you cannot tell them anything.”
Ndaba said the country is not well resourced to have enough counsellors and therapists who correct children’s behaviour without resorting to the rod.
“As a country we have not reached that stage where we have enough counsellors and therapists to correct behaviour. The best way is to moderate and control the beating. We need to promote good parenting but I am afraid we are still far behind to implement First World techniques in parenting.
“What priviledge do you take away from a student without TV games, toys, bus fare, food, clothing or pocket money?”
Traditionalist and social commentator, Sekuru Friday Chisanyu, weighed in saying the law has been prompted by abusive guardians. He added that corporal punishment has always been conducted in a restricted manner in Zimbabwean culture with grandparents, uncles and aunts on the guard against excessive beating.
“In our tradition, there have been checks and balances against cruel canning of children,” he said.
“But because of the urban set-up and the emergence of HIV/Aids, we have had a situation whereby some guardians were being cruel to orphans and that needed to be stopped. However, there is nothing wrong with using the rod as a form of discipline.
“After all, in our culture we have been raised like that and we have people who are successful and are in leadership positions who were raised this way. So the law is good in terms of children’s rights but I still think corporal punishment should not be ruled out entirely because this could create social disorder in our society as Africans.”
Justice for Children’s Trust director, Mr Caleb Mutandwa, is adamant that corporal punishment is a form of violence and torture and should be struck down.
“This is a victory for children’s rights and the Constitution because we regard corporal punishment as violence and torture against children,” he said.
“It may have been acceptable in the old constitution but in the new one any form of violence against anyone, be it children or adults, is a violation of their rights. In fact, what shows that it was a bad law is that Government did not oppose the application because they know that it is against the Constitution.”
Mr Mutandwa said corporal punishment is discriminatory as it is applied against children only. He said this is in violation of various international treaties signed by the country.
“So what we are saying is that, yes, children should be disciplined but with alternative forms of punishment, not corporal punishment. This involves other forms of physical punishment as well as the reward system, depending with the age of the child.”
Corporal punishment was until now permitted as a form of punishment in schools through the Education Act.
Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Dr Lazarus Dokora, could not be reached for comment.
The ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dr Sylvia Utete-Masango, said the Ministry’s legal team will look into the matter.
“It is an issue which needs consultation and research in our legal departments before we can speak,” she said.
“So if you could write to me a specific incident (of corporal punishment), we will look into it and respond in a proper manner.”
Corporal punishment had become a contentious issue in the country of late as cases of child abuse were spiking.
A Chitungwiza woman was in 2015 jailed for three years after beating her 10-year-old niece to death for stealing R1.
In another case, five pupils at Solusi High were reportedly admitted into hospital after being beaten by the boarding master.
It remains to be seen if the Constitutional Court will uphold the judgment, having previously ruled that corporal punishment in homes and schools is permissible.
Online Reporter