Men’s pressure groups in Zimbabwe have criticised the exclusion of women murders from the death penalty in the final draft of the new constitution released last month.
The draft explicitly states that no woman shall face the death penalty.
Section 4.5 of the new constitution reads in part: “A law may permit the death penalty to be imposed only on a person convicted of murder committed in aggravating circumstances, and the penalty must not be imposed or carried out on a woman.”
The draft also partially abolishes the death penalty with the exception being in ‘cases of aggravated murder’. It also abolishes the death penalty for people under 21 years and those above 70 years.
Fred Misi, the National Chairperson of men’s pressure group Varume Svinurai ( ‘men open your eyes’), said it was unfair for the new constitution to only protect women from the death penalty.
“I think it’s not fair. We are saying all human beings are equal before the law but if you then say a woman who commits murder will be protected and a man who commits murder is hanged then there is no equality. Obviously it’s not fair. We were trying to eliminate discrimination against men and women but once you separate the two there will be discrimination.”
Mandla Tshuma a freelance journalist from Bulawayo agrees, arguing that the clause is in itself discriminatory because murder is murder no matter who commits it.
He said: “If women are clamouring for equality with men in all other aspects then they should also be entitled to the same punishment as men for the same crimes. If women are going to be exempted from the death penalty then it leaves us a bit confused because it denotes that women are actually inferior to men.”
If approved in the referendum expected to be held before year end this will be a definite victory for women’s advocacy groups such as Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe and Msasa Project, which have actively campaigned for women to be spared from the hang man’s noose citing it as a sign of ‘gender imbalance.’
Already the women’s groups have said they are happy with 75% of the draft as most of their demands were enshrined in the new proposed supreme law of the land.