{"id":92665,"date":"2024-04-02T11:20:44","date_gmt":"2024-04-02T09:20:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/prisca-mupfumira-calls-for-protection-of-widows-from-small-houses"},"modified":"2024-04-02T14:48:42","modified_gmt":"2024-04-02T12:48:42","slug":"prisca-mupfumira-calls-for-protection-of-widows-from-small-houses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.cc\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/prisca-mupfumira-calls-for-protection-of-widows-from-small-houses","title":{"rendered":"Prisca Mupfumira Calls For Protection Of Widows From \u201cSmall Houses\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. <\/strong><\/span>Prisca Mupfumira, the ZANU PF Senator for Mashonaland West province, asserts that girlfriends of married men, colloquially known as \u201csmall houses,\u201d should not receive benefits from a deceased estate to the detriment of the deceased\u2019s spouse.<\/p>\n

As of 2022, the Marriages Act (Chapter 5:15) acknowledges \u2018civil partnerships\u2019\u2014unions between a man and a woman who cohabit without the customary payment of lobola\u2014and grants property rights to the individuals in such relationships.<\/p>\n

During a Senate debate initiated by Mashonaland West Senator Bybit Lydia Tsomondo, Mupfumira emphasized that \u201csmall houses\u201d should not automatically inherit from a deceased estate solely based on cohabitation. She said (via The Sunday Mail<\/b>):<\/p>\n

You find that sometimes some girlfriends end up benefitting. It might be because the husband was cohabitating with a girlfriend for three months and you find such a woman benefitting…Because he died while staying with a small house, she ends up taking everything.<\/p>\n

The Marriages Act, which was promulgated in May 2022 and took effect in August 2022, repealed both the Customary Marriages Act (Chapter 5:07) and the Marriage Act (Chapter 5:11). Now, there is one comprehensive law governing all marriages in Zimbabwe.<\/p>\n

Here are the salient points to note from the Marriages Act:<\/p>\n

1. AGE OF MARRIAGE<\/b><\/p>\n

The minimum age of marriage is 18 years for both girls and boys. It is, therefore, a crime to marry off a child and anyone involved in that will be prosecuted. It is a substantial crime if the parents or guardians are involved.<\/p>\n

2. CONSENT<\/b><\/p>\n

There must be free and full consent from anyone wanting to get married.<\/p>\n

3. TYPES OF MARRIAGES:<\/b><\/p>\n

a). A civil marriage is a monogamous marriage between a man and a woman.<\/p>\n

b). A registered customary marriage is potentially polygamous and done according to customary rites.<\/p>\n

c). A qualified marriage is a union contracted according to religious rites which is not registrable as civil or customary marriage and is potentially polygamous.<\/p>\n

A registered customary law marriage may be converted to a civil marriage.<\/p>\n

4. UNREGISTERED CUSTOMARY LAW UNIONS (KUBVISIRANA PFUMA)<\/b><\/p>\n

Unregistered customary law unions are not recognised marriages<\/p>\n

Unions contracted after the new ACT must register within 3 months of the date of the union.<\/p>\n

However, unions that existed before this ACT must be registered within 12 months.<\/p>\n

Failure to register does not invalidate the union, guardianship, custody and the rights of succession of children in such a marriage. (limited recognition).<\/p>\n

5. CIVIL PARTNERSHIP (KUBIKA MAPOTO)<\/b><\/p>\n

It is not a marriage but recognised ONLY for purposes of property sharing It is a relationship of a man and a woman above the age of 18 years living together on a genuine domestic basis It can co-exist with any other marriage including a Cavil marriage.<\/p>\n

6. EQUAL STATUS OF ALL MARRIAGES<\/b><\/p>\n

All marriages are equal. there is no marriage superior to the other.<\/p>\n

7. LOBOLA<\/b><\/p>\n

For customary law marriages, the agreement relating to lobola or marriage consideration is necessary. Customary law formalities are a prerequisite.<\/p>\n

8. EQUAL RIGHTS<\/b><\/p>\n

Parties to a marriage have equal rights and obligations during the subsistence of the marriage and at its dissolution.<\/p>\n

9. MARRIAGE OFFICERS:<\/b><\/p>\n

a. Magistrates<\/p>\n

b. Ministers of religion<\/p>\n

c. Chiefs (they solemnise customary marriages)<\/p>\n

d. Heads of embassies<\/p>\n

10. DIVORCE LAW (MATRIMONIAL CAUSES ACT)<\/b><\/p>\n

The law on divorce applies to all types of marriages and civil partnerships but does not apply to unregistered customary law unions.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Zimbabwe<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. Prisca Mupfumira, the ZANU PF Senator for Mashonaland West province, asserts that girlfriends of married men, colloquially known as \u201csmall houses,\u201d should not receive benefits from a deceased estate to the detriment of the deceased\u2019s spouse. As of 2022, the Marriages Act (Chapter 5:15) acknowledges \u2018civil partnerships\u2019\u2014unions between a man and a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":92664,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,10],"tags":[1493,2189,7667,6337,3217,16643,19],"class_list":{"0":"post-92665","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-all-news","8":"category-parties","9":"tag-africa-press","10":"tag-africa-press-zimbabwe-2","11":"tag-marriage","12":"tag-marriages-act","13":"tag-prisca-mupfumira","14":"tag-small-house","15":"tag-zimbabwe"},"yoast_head":"\nPrisca Mupfumira Calls For Protection Of Widows From \u201cSmall Houses\u201d - zimbabwe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Prisca Mupfumira, the ZANU PF Senator for Mashonaland West province, asserts that girlfriends of married men, colloquial ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/prisca-mupfumira-calls-for-protection-of-widows-from-small-houses\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Prisca Mupfumira Calls For Protection Of Widows From \u201cSmall Houses\u201d\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Prisca Mupfumira, the ZANU PF Senator for Mashonaland West province, asserts that girlfriends of married men, colloquial ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/prisca-mupfumira-calls-for-protection-of-widows-from-small-houses\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"zimbabwe\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-04-02T09:20:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-04-02T12:48:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/sites\/14\/2024\/04\/sm_1712045550.986461.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"804\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/prisca-mupfumira-calls-for-protection-of-widows-from-small-houses\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/prisca-mupfumira-calls-for-protection-of-widows-from-small-houses\",\"name\":\"Prisca Mupfumira Calls For Protection Of Widows From \u201cSmall Houses\u201d - 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