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Cultural practices and ignorance impede birth registration for children in Zimbabwe

In Zimbabwe, cultural norms and a lack of awareness often complicate birth registration for children, particularly after the death of one or both parents. While birth registration is a child's legal right, ensuring access to education, healthcare, and inheritance, various social dynamics create significant barriers. These include paternal families asserting authority over children, the deliberate withholding of deceased parents' death certificates as leverage in family disputes, and the demand for lobola bride price or mombe yechiredzwa from children before their identities are recognized. Additionally, demands for compensation kuripwa for perceived wrongs by the deceased parent can prevent cooperation from extended family members. These practices, rooted in cultural frameworks, often undermine children's rights by making them legally invisible. The article highlights the need for flexible civil registration systems, clear protocols for orphaned children, and stronger enforcement of birth registration laws to overcome these challenges and ensure every child's right to identity.