ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the Zimbabwean situation using the approach of women's law. It examines how indigenous Zimbabweans—especially women—had been excluded from full participation, as equal citizens, during the colonial era. When the new national constitution came into effect on 22 May 2013, a central plank was its Declaration of Rights. It contained comprehensive provisions to protect the human rights of women and girls, and to outlaw discriminatory religious and cultural practices. The right of residence is not an absolute one, but it is important in terms of preventing discrimination based on grounds such as religion, culture, or race. Even though the laws have changed in Zimbabwe with respect to urban accommodation, and despite the constitutional reforms, still social, economic, and infrastructural deficits mean that, in practice, many women and girls remain excluded. All human and socioeconomic rights must be rigorously enforced to end the legal continuation of exclusion.
