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Sifelani Tsiko

Innovations Editor

The construction of a new Registrar-General’s Office at Masenda Village in Ward 32 in Buhera Central constituency is expected to increase the registration of children at birth — a key element to accelerate access to a child-friendly justice system for all children in this part of the country grappling with child marriages and child sexual abuse.

Construction has reached an advanced stage and is set to be completed by the end of July.

Most minors in Buhera Central and South constituency lack birth certificates while a sizeable number of adults have no identification documents.

Smallholder farmers here complain that they often find it difficult to access the RG’s Office at Murambinda, which is some 50km away.

It costs between US$5 and $7 to travel to Murambinda and many people say they can’t afford.

This has left many people without officially registering the birth of their children.

Without birth certificates, these minors often have no access to education or health care and become easy prey for human traffickers.

“I’m so excited about the progress we have made as a community to build the new RG’s Office here in the Maneta area of Buhera Central constituency,” said Sulpicious Nyikadzino, councillor of Ward 32 under Headman Makuvise.

“Most children have no birth certificates and most adults too, lack IDs. Having this office here will help us a lot in terms of birth registration, ID card and death certificate registration. Our people spend two or three days to register for birth certificates at Murambinda and having this centre will cut down on time and distance.”

The community spirit is particularly evident at Maneta.

“The local community moulded 45 000 bricks, provided river sand and other materials. We have received immense support from the local MP, the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), Self Help Development Fund (SHDF), Women’s Action Group (WAG), Government and other partners.

“We thank all our partners and we are optimistic that with access to birth certificates, most victims of sexual abuse will get justice and support. At present, cases of young girls who are raped or forced into child marriages get complicated when perpetrators contest the age of the victims.”

The new office was constructed at an estimated cost of US$15 000 with the bulk of the contributions coming from the CDF, WAG and SHDF.

“A lot of ground has been covered in the construction of the RG’s Office at Maneta ward,” said Freeman Mavhiza, district development coordinator for Buhera district. 

“Child birth registration will help us a lot when it comes to the fight against child marriages and child sexual abuse. Most cases are lost at the courts as perpetrators contest the ages of the victims. So, this is a great step in the realisation of justice for the children.”

Women and girls in most parts of Buhera district face a high risk of sexual violence due to religious and cultural practices.

Julia Tirivavi, a community development officer of the Women’s Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development expressed gratitude to the UN Women and WAG Spotlight Initiative which was helping to raise awareness on gender-based violence issues in the district.

“Cases of child marriages and child sexual abuse are very high here in Buhera. 

“In the central and southern parts of the district we have a large population of the apostolic sect groupings where child marriages and child sexual abuse is most prevalent,” she said.

“With support of the Spotlight Initiative we have managed to spread messages against GBV issues. I’m glad that most people here are now embracing the need to protect our children from sexual abuse and to send them to school. Many women are now aware of their sexual and reproductive rights.”

With the construction of the new RG’s Office, she said, it will be easy for people to get birth certificates and for women to get IDs and access loans for self-empowerment projects.

The programmes running under the Spotlight Initiative supported through a partnership between the European Union and the United Nations are aimed at ending violence against women and girls and harmful practices.

Zimbabwe is among the 20 countries in Africa, Latin America, Asia- Pacific and the Caribbean which are participating in the four-year programme which started in 2019 and ends in June 2021 for the first phase.

The country was supported by the EU to the tune of US$30 million for the first phase to help Zimbabwe meet some of its Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 3 and 5) on empowering women and girls to realise their full potential in a violent free, gender-responsive and inclusive environment.

“Access to justice is particularly difficult for women and girls without IDs and birth certificates because perpetrators often contest the ages of the victims. With proper documentation, it will become possible for our courts to prosecute the offenders,” said Tirivavi.

“Due to lack of birth and ID registrations, most women and young girls often do not get the support they need at every stage of the justice process — reporting the abuse to police, getting appropriate medical care, and navigating the court system.”

Unicef and UN Women report that women and children without official IDs and birth records and who lack proof of their age are more vulnerable to marginalisation, discrimination, abuse and associated protection risks such as child marriage, child labour and trafficking.

With devolution and decentralisation of the RG’s Office country, Zimbabwe can make significant progress in meeting the SDG goal of every child having a legal identity, including birth registration, by 2030.

At present, the under 5 birth registration in Africa stands at 52 per cent and this is insufficient for most African countries to meet this goal.

 Zimbabwe is grappling with child marriages and child pregnancies which have risen sharply over the past year following disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to Government figures, at least 4 959 girls fell pregnant in 2020, while 1 174 cases of child marriages were recorded between January and February this year.

A recent survey by the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) indicated a sharp increase in child marriages globally, with 14 million underage girls married off each                       year.

“More still needs to be done to educate our children to abstain from sex and the risks that come with unwanted pregnancies. The Spotlight Initiative needs to be scaled up to raise awareness about sexual reproductive health and awareness programmes here in Buhera district,” said Tirivavi.