ZANU PF urges women to stop contraceptives

Mabel Chinomona, ZANU PF Secretary for Women Affairs and President of the Senate, urged women to stop using contraceptives at a Women's League event in Harare's high-density suburbs, citing the country's falling birth rate as a concern. She called for more children to address the decline. She said the birth rate is getting lower and worrying, and called for more children to boost the population, urging women to be fruitful and multiply and emphasizing the need for larger families, while her remarks have drawn criticism from women's rights groups. Chinomona is a key figure in the party's women's wing. The statement has sparked debate on reproductive rights and government policy on family planning, aligning with ZANU PF's pronatalist stance, while the government has not officially endorsed her call, and Zimbabwe's birth rate has been declining in recent years, highlighting tensions between traditional values and modern reproductive health.