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home and her conservative friends in Harare.
“In the rural area, some people think that our relationship is queer
and each time we visit our rural home, a number of villagers
actually gather to observe the behaviour of a white woman married
to a black person. One day I heard one of the village elders saying
that my children will not be blessed because of this union,” explained
the businesswoman.
She told IPS that although there was nothing illegal about that
union, a lot needed to be done to educate people that there was
nothing untraditional for white and black people to marry each
other. Furthermore, there is need for people to come to terms with
people’s human right to choose freely, their life partner.
Ironically, men married to white or Asian women are regarded as
symbols of achievement although conservative patriarchal social
leaders such as chiefs sometimes accuse them of violating traditional
norms. The different reactions to men and women’s interracial
marriages indicate the gendered nature of interracial relationships.
Sekai feels the government should have done more to
operationalize its policy of reconciliation expounded at independence
in 1980. She feels civic organizations and the government
should organize workshops where they educate members of society
on methods of conflict resolution and peaceful co-existence.
Such workshops can also be used to assist people to accept
interracial relationships and to eradicate the myths and misconceptions
surrounding such marriages.
56
From the looks of things, it seems plausible to say that Zimbabweans
should appreciate that the Constitution of this diverse Southern
African nation says citizens are all those born in Zimbabwe,
born to Zimbabwean parents, descendants of Zimbabweans and
those who obtained the status through marriage to Zimbabweans
or applied for it.