Abstract
Widows in Zimbabwe go through a lot of stressful situations in their everyday life after the death of their husbands. In spite of the provision of the National Gender Policy of 2004 and the National Gender Policy of 2013–2017 whose goal is to eradicate gender discrimination and inequalities in all spheres of life and development, the widows experience religious and cultural barriers in accessing sexual reproductive health rights (SRHR). Implementation of women’s rights is indeed lacking with respect to the treatment of widows, preventing them from enjoying full health and well-being (Sustainable Development Goal 3) and empowerment (Sustainable Development Goal 5). Many widows face various forms of discrimination, stigmatisation, oppression and deprivation and as such suffer deplorable abuse and powerlessness. The aim of this chapter is to present the personal narratives of two widows and their personalised experiences as they relate to religious and cultural practices they have been subjected to. Not only does the chapter explore the widows’ personal experiences, but it also examines ways in which religion and cultural norms are presenting a barricade against widows’ access to SRHR. Narrative and participatory practices guided our conversations. This qualitative research was conducted within a social construction discourse and in the context of narrative and participatory pastoral care and therapy. This research is positioned within participatory, liberation and feminist contextual theologies. We co-created counselling and care practices that respected the knowledge of the widows involved. We also engaged with the participants in finding alternative ways of living positively with widowhood. The empowerment approach was employed in this chapter to increase the widows’ personal and interpersonal power and knowledge so that they would be able to act against the barriers they are encountering with regard to their access to SRHR. In concluding the discussion, we reiterate the fact that Zimbabwe’s Vision 2030 should also entail a commitment to upholding and defending not just women’s, but specifically widows’ SRHR. Such an endeavour will immensely contribute towards the fulfilment of SDGs 3 and 5.
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Shumbamhini, M., Martha, Mary (2022). Religio-Cultural Norms Constraining Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights for Widows in Zimbabwe. In: Chirongoma, S., Manyonganise, M., Chitando, E. (eds) Religion, Women’s Health Rights, and Sustainable Development in Zimbabwe: Volume 1. Sustainable Development Goals Series. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-99922-3_10
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