Midlands State University Law Review

Towards Real Gender Equality at the Workplace: A Case for the Introduction of Paternity Leave in Zimbabwe

Mon, 16 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This article examines the right of male employees to paternity leave, a contentious
issue in many jurisdictions, including Zimbabwe. Despite ongoing debates, the right to
paternity leave continues to gain global attention from human rights movements
advocating for workplace gender equality. The research argues that Zimbabwe should
recognise and implement paternity leave, especially considering its ratification of key
international and regional human rights and labour law instruments promoting gender
equality. The article explores international legal frameworks on gender equality and
emphasises the need to dismantle historical gender stereotypes to achieve true
equality. One effective way to do so is by promoting the equitable division of caregiving
responsibilities within households. While Zimbabwe’s Constitution guarantees the
right to non-discrimination and protection from unfair labour practices, it also permits
special measures to safeguard certain groups. Notably, the Constitution explicitly
guarantees women the right to maternity leave, but there is no equivalent provision for
paternity leave. Similarly, Zimbabwe’s Labour Act, the primary legislation governing
employment rights, does not recognise the denial of paternity leave as an unfair labour
practice, failing to align with the Constitution’s broader equality objectives. To offer
comparative insights, the article examines South Africa’s legal framework, which
grants male employees various forms of parental leave, including paternity and
adoption leave. The analysis of South Africa’s approach demonstrates a legal pathway
for integrating paternity leave into Zimbabwe’s labour law. Drawing from these
lessons, the article advocates for Zimbabwe to extend legal recognition to paternity
leave, ensuring greater gender equality in both the workplace and the home

Religion and Gender Equality. An Assessment of the Role of Religion in Women’s Political Participation in Zimbabwe

Douglas Musebenzi — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Regardless of women being half of the world’s population, they remain considerably
underrepresented in political leadership around the world. Women's participation in
political leadership has become a huge problem and has resulted in the
marginalisation of most women in political leadership. African women’s history in
political leadership demonstrates that marginalisation of women was rampant.
Religion has played an important role in shaping public policies, participation and
public life in many countries around the world. Religion has a significant influence on
political behaviour and its impact on women’s political participation in Zimbabwe
remains underexplored. Gender inequality is a prevalent phenomenon in developing
countries, due to poor governance and religious institutions. This study examined the
role of religion in shaping women’s access to political leadership, using a conceptual
analysis grounded in Social Role Theory, Intersectionality Theory, and Political
Theology. Does religion impact women's participation in political leadership in
Zimbabwe? Marginalisation of women perpetuates the violation of women’s rights and
infringes conventions such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women, Protocol to the African Charter on Human and
Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women, and the Constitution of Zimbabwe, 2013 The
research reviewed Zimbabwe’s constitutional, legislative and policy frameworks
alongside Christian and African Traditional religious perspectives. Findings indicated
that religious beliefs and practices can contribute to limiting women’s political
participation. The study underscored the complex interaction between religion, culture
and politics in women’s political participation. The study highlighted the need for multisectoral
strategies that include among others advocacy, policy reforms and public
awareness to promote inclusive political participation. Limitations include reliance on secondary data and there is need for empirical studies to investigate religion’s
influence on women’s political leadership in Zimbabwe. Recommendations were made
to the relevant authorities on the elimination of outdated religious practices that limit
women's participation in political leadership in Zimbabwe.

Foreign Investment Protection Laws in Zimbabwe: A Comparison of the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency Act [Chapter 14:37] and the Protection of Investment Act of South Africa, Act 22 of 2015

Kudakwashe A. V. Chihata — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Since 1980, Zimbabwe has adopted various measures and enacted multiple laws
which were aimed at promoting and protecting foreign investment. These laws have
been subject to tumultuous debates between various schools of thought. These
measures and laws were influenced by the various approaches that Zimbabwe
adopted towards foreign investment at different periods. This paper argues that
Zimbabwe has subscribed to different theories underpinning foreign investment and
also identifies the recognised forms of foreign investment in Zimbabwe. In this
paper, it is established that Zimbabwe has used and currently uses the both Bilateral
Investment Treaties (Hereinafter BIT) and national legislation to protect foreign
investment. This paper comes from the premise that Zimbabwe's foreign investment
legal regime has been chaotic over the years. It contends that, while Zimbabwe has
now codified previously incongruent legislation under the Zimbabwe Investment and
Development Agency Act [Chapter 14:37] (hereinafter ZIDA Act) and taken steps to
reverse to varying degrees, controversial policies and laws such as those relating
to land reform program and indigestion, scepticism remains about the investorfriendliness and protections granted to foreign investment in Zimbabwe. It is against
this background that this paper seeks to examine the foreign investment protection
mechanism per ZIDA Act and compare it with the Protection of Investment Act 22
of 2015 of South Africa (hereinafter PIA). The main aim of the comparison is to
identify the similarities and differences between the two Acts and to identify the
lessons that Zimbabwe can draw from the PIA. This paper also identifies some of
the gaps and inconsistencies in Zimbabwe’s approach to foreign investment
protection and recommends corrective measures