Speak It Loud: Women's Rights Handbook — Amplifying the Voices of Women's Movements to Address VAWG in Zimbabwe

A community education handbook compiled by WLSA Zimbabwe under the "Speak It Loud" project, funded by the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women (UNTF) in partnership with VSO. Designed for use in study circles (groups of 7–12 adults or youth), it covers women's constitutional rights, marriage types, divorce, domestic violence, maintenance, inheritance, and estate administration under Zimbabwean law.

• Zimbabwe's 2013 Constitution contains significant provisions advancing women's rights, but implementation gaps persist
• Many women in unregistered customary law unions face serious disadvantages in inheritance and property disputes
• Domestic violence remains high despite the Domestic Violence Act (2007)
• Women's access to justice is constrained by cost, legal literacy gaps, and cultural barriers

• Realign marriage and customary law statutes with the 2013 Constitution
• Strengthen legal aid access for women
• Register marriages to protect women's inheritance and property rights
• Domesticate ratified international instruments (CEDAW, Maputo Protocol, SADC Gender Protocol)