Declare intimate partner murders a national emergency – Shamwari Yemwanasikana

Shamwari Yemwanasikana has raised the alarm over a surge in women and children killed in domestic settings, describing the situation as a femicide crisis.

In a statement issued on Thursday, 24 September, the organisation said at least 13 women and children have lost their lives in homes between June and September 2026.

“These deaths, recorded in places like Chikanga, Nkulumane, Southlea Park, Shamva, Hatfield, Glen View and Darwendale, and even affecting a Zimbabwean family in the United Kingdom, show that homes are no longer safe for women and girls,” it said.

Among the victims are a pregnant woman, a serving police officer, a mother and her two daughters, and two young girls aged five and two.

The organisation said what the country is witnessing is no longer just domestic disputes but femicide, with minor disagreements over childcare or family matters escalating into brutal killings involving weapons such as hammers, axes, firearms and fire. Children are also becoming victims.

“As an organisation that empowers the girl child, we believe that if a girl grows up seeing her mother killed by her father, her own future is destroyed,” the statement reads.

Shamwari Yemwanasikana said its deepest concern is now child protection, as the children who survived the killings still have to continue with life.

“Many of them witnessed their mothers being murdered and are now left orphaned, traumatised and vulnerable to secondary abuse, including neglect, stigma, exploitation and being shuffled between relatives without proper care,” it said.

The organisation has called on the Zimbabwe Gender Commission to intervene decisively and use its constitutional mandate to escalate the crisis to higher offices, including the Office of the President and Cabinet, Parliament and the Ministry of Women Affairs, to ensure that intimate partner murders are declared a national emergency.

It also urged the Department of Social Welfare, the Victim Friendly Unit and its partners to urgently provide psychosocial support, safe shelter and long-term care plans for the surviving children to protect them from secondary abuse and guarantee their right to life, education and healing.

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