“Unlocking Safe Spaces for comprehensive SRHR”: Advocacy for women’s and adolescent girls’ right to access safe abortion in Zimbabwe

Abstract

abstract Abortion remains highly contested in Zimbabwe and this stems from deeply rooted and set convictions based on religious, traditional, cultural, and moralistic persuasions. Political will to commit to unrestricted conditions for abortions also remains very limited as evidenced by the continued hesitancy to review the 1977 Termination of Pregnancy Act (ToP) (Chapter 15:10) which allows for abortion under the circumstances of rape, incest and health. There have been concerted efforts to engage in advocacy campaigns for the review of the ToP to allow for more liberal conditions and this has seen feminists coming together to influence various constituencies. Advocacy efforts have centred on conducting a multi-lane approach comprised of Values Clarification Attitudes and Transformation exercises with traditional leaders, Parliamentarians, religious and cultural leaders; engagement with Ministries of Justice, Health, Education; media engagement of feminist reporters for informed and transformative reporting on abortion, and linking with global campaigns for ongoing learnings. To date, the advocacy has resulted in the abortion agenda being discussed in Parliament and there is evidence of more progressive attitudes by gate keepers and opinion leaders. Draft regulations and a new ToP Bill have been developed by the feminist advocates, both of which have been submitted to Ministry of Justice for adoption. Contained within these are proposals for the expansion of the conditions under which one can access a safe abortion and streamlined revised administrative procedures for more efficient handling of reports of rape and the granting of an abortion order.