Zanu PF women's boss urges women to have more children

ZANU PF Secretary for Women's Affairs and Senate President Mabel Chinomona has urged Zimbabwean women to stop using contraceptives and have more children, warning that the country's declining birth rate could affect its future workforce.

Chinomona made the remarks at a recent ZANU PF Women's League event in Murehwa West constituency, where she expressed concern over what she described as a decline in the number of children being born in Zimbabwe.

"Women, please stop using family planning; please go and give birth," Chinomona said.

"Our soldiers are now few; we need farmers, doctors and nurses while you are busy swallowing those pills."

She argued that Zimbabwe needs a larger population to provide the workforce required to develop the country, questioning the growing preference among some families to have only one child.

"We are supposed to build this country, yet you find children of this generation saying a single child is enough. How many siblings do you have?" she asked.

Chinomona's comments have placed the country's changing fertility patterns back in the spotlight.

Zimbabwe's fertility rate has declined significantly since independence in 1980, when women had an average of nearly seven children.

The rate fell to about 4.9 children per woman by 1990 and dropped further to between 3.6 and 3.8 by 2006.

Current estimates place Zimbabwe's fertility rate at approximately 3.2 to 3.6 children per woman, still substantially above the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman.

The long-term decline has been attributed to several factors, including increased access to family planning services, the rising cost of raising children and higher levels of education among women.

While Zimbabwe's fertility rate remains above replacement level, Chinomona's remarks reflect concerns among some policymakers about the country's future demographic structure and the availability of workers needed to support key sectors such as agriculture, healthcare and security.

Her call for women to abandon contraceptives, however, places the political debate against the broader issue of reproductive choice and access to family planning services.

The comments are likely to fuel further discussion over how Zimbabwe should respond to changing population trends while balancing demographic concerns with women's reproductive rights and individual choices.