Recognition of same-sex unions in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe does not recognize same-sex marriages or civil unions. The Marriages Act does not recognise same-sex marriage, and civil partnerships are only available to opposite-sex couples. The Constitution of Zimbabwe explicitly prohibits same-sex marriages.

Historical recognition of same-sex relationships
While many modern-day Zimbabwean cultures historically practiced polygamy, there are no records of same-sex marriages as understood from a Western perspective being performed in those cultures. However, there is evidence for identities and behaviours that may be placed on the LGBT spectrum. In the 1990s, Canadian researcher Marc Epprecht wrote about pederastic marriages in colonial Zimbabwe. Contemporary oral evidence suggests that same-sex relationships were "common" and "prevelant" in Zimbabwe in the early 20th century, with research by Epprecht estimating that between 70% and 80% of men at the mines took on male sexual partners. It was during this time through the mining compounds and the influence of the Zulu language that the contemporary term ngochani, meaning "homosexual", entered the Shona language. These relationships differed strongly from the Western understanding of same-sex marriages, as men who entered these "mine marriages" continued to marry women and "conform, or appear to conform, to gender expectations", and would not consider themselves as homosexual or bisexual, or "unfaithful to [their] marriage vows". Epprecht further wrote that "enabling migrant men to conserve their health and resources against the temptations of [local] women [in towns near the mines], ngochani strengthened their ability to shore up proper, fecund marriages [back home]". This practice gradually disappeared as Zimbabwe became more modernized and exposed to Christianity and Western culture in the 20th century.

Background
[[File:African homosexuality laws.svg|thumb|300px|Same-sex sexual activity legal {{legend|#002255|Same-sex marriage}}

{{legend|#CAF|Limited recognition (foreign residency rights)}} {{legend|#cccccc|No recognition of same-sex couples}} Same-sex sexual activity illegal {{legend|#f9dc36|Prison but not enforced}} {{legend|#ec8028|Prison}}

]]

Although in very close proximity, South Africa and Zimbabwe have contrasting political histories in their post-colonial states with regard to LGBT rights. While South Africa's post-apartheid state entrenched LGBT rights in its constitution and legalised same-sex marriage in November 2006, making it the first African nation and the fifth in the world to recognise same-sex marriages, Zimbabwe's post-independent state has strongly opposed homosexuality and same-sex unions. Gays and lesbians experience severe societal and legal discrimination in Zimbabwe, often fleeing to South Africa "to enjoy greater freedom".

Legal situation
The Marriages Act (Mutemo weWanano; uMthetho woMtshado), enacted in 2022 by the Parliament of Zimbabwe, defines civil marriage as "[being] monogamous, that is to say, it is the lawful union of two persons to the exclusion of all others and no person may contract any other marriage during the subsistence of a marriage under the general law." Although it does not explicitly forbid same-sex marriages, it generally refers to married spouses as "man" and "woman". Civil partnerships, legalised with the passage of this new law in 2022, are explicitly defined as being between "a man and a woman" who are both over the age of eighteen years, and have lived together on a genuine domestic basis without legally being married. However, Article 78 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe contains an explicit ban on same-sex marriages: "Persons of the same sex are prohibited from marrying each other."

This ban was introduced in 2013 following the adoption of a new constitution. The previous constitution enacted in 1980 did not contain such a ban. The new constitution was presented to Parliament on 5 February 2013 and subsequently approved in a referendum on 16 March 2013. Parliament approved it on 9 May and President Robert Mugabe signed it into law on 22 May 2013.

Religious performance
The Catholic Church opposes same-sex marriage and does not allow its priests to officiate at such marriages. In December 2023, the Holy See published Fiducia supplicans, a declaration allowing Catholic priests to bless couples who are not considered to be married according to church teaching, including the blessing of same-sex couples. However, the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference issued a statement on 22 December that "locally, many Catholics and those who look up to the Catholic Church are asking questions and wondering if the declaration marks a paradigm shift in the doctrine of the Church on marriage. While we have great appreciation of the declaration and the guidance it gives on blessings, we are also sensitive to the anxiety and confusion that has arisen. We would like to reiterate that the declaration is not about the change of the doctrine on marriage and neither is it about an approval of same sex unions in the Church. It is about blessings. In respect of the law of the land, our culture and for moral reasons we instruct pastors to desist from actions that may be deemed as the blessing of same-sex unions bringing confusion and even scandal to our people."