”We work without rest”: Zimbabwe’s women confront unpaid care work as Parliament debates recognition bill

It is a cool, overcast mid-morning in Honde Valley, Manicaland province, and Nomatter Maromo is cooking vegetable soup in a thatched kitchen in preparation for lunch. Outside, dirty clothes for the entire family are waiting for her. The 43-year-old Maromo, a striking image in a religious outfit of an orange long dress and a white blouse, shoulders unpaid care and domestic work in this household.  

“I wake up early in the morning to clean the house, water the garden, do dishes and cook for the family,” shared Maromo, from Mapeza Village in eastern Zimbabwe, who is visibly tired. “It is exhausting. I am also expected to work in the maize and banana fields, and to walk half a kilometre to fetch drinking water.” 

Sandwiched near the border with Mozambique and a 4-hour drive from the capital Harare, Honde Valley is known for its tea estates, banana plantations and green hills. Water is scarce in some parts of the community and there are few boreholes, forcing girls and women like Maromo to walk long distances to collect water and wash clothes in rivers. They also navigate the rough terrain to gather firewood for cooking.  

Working without wages, recognition, or rest

For years, this important work done by women, which keeps families, communities and the economy running, has not been recognized in Zimbabwe. 

Thanks to sustained advocacy from civil society organizations, and supported by new research evidence, lawmakers want to change this. On December 10, 2025, the Parliament debated a motion to introduce a new bill known as Unpaid Care and Domestic Work, which seeks to put in place dedicated budgets and infrastructure like child care and clean water facilities to support women and girls who carry out disproportionate unpaid care work. The bill also mandates the government to assess its contribution to the nation’s GDP.  

During a Senate sitting, Senator Nohlahla Mlotshwa highlighted the extensive responsibilities shouldered by women in rural areas: “They till the land, walking kilometres for water and firewood, raising children, caring for the sick and the elderly and producing food that feeds this country.” 

Building on Mlotshwa’s remark, Senator Maybe Mbowa — who moved the motion — underscored that because domestic work is done almost entirely by women and girls without recognition, reward or rest, it creates a profound imbalance. This inequity, she argued, deprives them of the time they need to learn, earn, lead and thrive. “We must no longer let this essential work stay hidden in the shadows of our national planning. The time to act is now,” she said.   

From time poverty to economic exclusion

The impact of this imbalance extends far beyond the home. Unpaid care work fuels “time poverty,” pushing women out of the formal economy because they have to take care of their families. 

A national study conducted in 2024 by the Health Law and Policy Consortium, in partnership with a civil society consortium led by the Women’s Academy for Leadership and Political Excellence (WALPE), including Oxfam Zimbabwe, Padare Enkudleni Men’s Forum and Bethany Trust, found that unpaid care work significantly affects women and girls’ opportunities for education and training, significantly constraining their opportunities for obtaining secure, full-time and formal employment. WALPE’s activities on unpaid care work are supported by Scaling Care Innovations in Africa, a five-year partnership between Global Affairs Canada and IDRC to transform unpaid care in sub-Saharan Africa.   

Fortunate Nkomo, a 2024 university graduate from Matabeleland South Province, explained how unpaid care and domestic work has reduced the time, energy and opportunities to build her career and work towards her aspirations: “Washing dishes, sweeping the house, fetching water due to ongoing water supply challenges in our area and babysitting my brother’s children — all these responsibilities are physically and mentally draining. At times, they leave me feeling as though I am not doing enough or that my own goals are being pushed aside.”  

A similar reality confronts Shalon Hakutangwi from Sanyanga Village in Honde Valley, who dropped out of a vocational training centre in Mutare, Zimbabwe’s third largest city. The 25-year-old dreamt of being a fashion designer with her own brand and was doing a sewing course after giving birth: “I did the course for a month in 2019, but I had dropped out to take care of my baby. I could not pay for house help,” shared Hakutangwi. “My husband insisted that I look after our child.” 

Highlighting the pattern, Senator Mlotshwa said: 

In the urban setting of Bulawayo, Precious Faith Ngwenya, a young woman with a disability and also a single mother to a one-year-old child, shared her experience: “My daily life is shaped by the heavy responsibility of unpaid care and domestic work. I am solely responsible for caring for my child, providing food, clothing, and meeting all household needs. Managing care work alongside my personal needs is extremely challenging.”   

These conditions carry serious health implications. Virginia Muwanigwa, CEO of the Zimbabwe Gender Commission, explains that women and girls carrying the unfair burden of care work are exposed to communicable diseases. This echoes findings from the civil society consortium’s national study, which highlights the hazards unpaid caregivers are exposed to when caring for sick family members with limited training and protective equipment. Their risk is heightened by a strained health system, where ongoing outmigration has left too few skilled health-care workers. 

But the impact goes even deeper. Muchanyara Cynthia Mukamuri, chairperson of the National Coordinating Committee for the Women's Coalition of Zimbabwe, said this labour reinforces gender inequality, perpetuates poverty and undermines their full contribution to national development. In their study, WALPE and partners found that unfairly distributed unpaid care work creates barriers that help explain why so few women hold political leadership roles in Zimbabwe. 

A long-awaited push for legal recognition

Women-led organizations are leading a renewed push for legal recognition of care work, urging lawmakers to adopt policies that support work-life balance, parental leave and flexible hours. Their advocacy comes at a critical moment, as momentum builds around a bill aimed at finally acknowledging the invisible labour that sustains households and communities across Zimbabwe. 

Sitabile Dewa, Africa regional director, has watched the issue remain sidelined for years. She noted that without laws that treat this labour as a public good, policymakers struggle to grasp its scale — or the disproportionate toll it takes on women and girls. 

When decision-makers such as government officials and councillors understand the impacts, she added, they are better positioned to craft measures that lighten the load. Infrastructure alone could make a significant difference: improved child-care services, elderly care facilities, clean energy and reliable water and sanitation systems would reduce the hours women spend managing daily tasks. 

Other women’s rights advocates echo this urgency. Muwanigwa of the Zimbabwe Gender Commission emphasized that the proposed bill should include these structural improvements as part of its core commitments. Leaders within the sector also want the law to ensure that this labour is counted in national statistics and reflected in economic planning, a step Mukamuri of the Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe believes would help confront long‑standing inequalities that have rendered it invisible. 

Dewa expects the legislation to champion flexible work arrangements — such as remote work options, adequate paid maternity leave and parental leave that encourages men to participate — as well as employer-supported child care, particularly in larger workplaces. All of these, she said, would allow more women to enter and remain in formal employment. 

Government officials acknowledge the need for action. Mavis Sibanda, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development, pointed to recent efforts to introduce clean cookstoves, upgrade water systems in rural communities and run awareness campaigns aimed at redistributing household responsibilities. Changing social norms, she noted, is essential for encouraging men and boys to share these duties. 

As legislators begin shaping the bill, women like Maromo and Hakutangwi are watching closely. They hope that legal recognition will not only reduce time poverty and rebalance domestic responsibilities but also unlock new opportunities outside the home. “I hope the community will get to see my worth,” Maromo said.