By Staff Reporter
In the quiet surroundings of Checheche Growth Point in Chipinge District, a teenage mother’s life came to a tragic end.
Sixteen-year-old Ruremekedzo Sithole went into labour but, instead of being taken to a health facility, she gave birth at an Apostolic shrine. She did not survive.
Her death has brought renewed attention to a deeply sensitive issue confronting communities in rural Zimbabwe ,the intersection of religious beliefs, traditional practices and access to life-saving maternal healthcare.
In Chipinge, concerns raised by community advocates point to Apostolic churches as being at the centre of a growing maternal health crisis, particularly where some women are encouraged or expected to give birth outside conventional health facilities.
The Chipinge Residents and Ratepayers Trust (CRRT) has raised alarm over maternal deaths associated with some Apostolic religious practices, calling for urgent action to ensure that women and girls can access professional medical care during pregnancy and childbirth.
When faith meets childbirth
For many women in rural communities, Apostolic churches are more than places of worship. They are deeply embedded in family life, culture and community networks.
But for some pregnant women, advocates say, religious expectations can influence decisions about where and how they give birth.
Some Apostolic groups are reported to regard childbirth as a spiritual experience in which prayer, faith and divine intervention play a central role. In communities where these beliefs discourage or delay visits to health facilities, medical emergencies can quickly become fatal.
Conditions such as severe bleeding, eclampsia and obstructed labour require immediate medical attention. Prayer and spiritual support may provide comfort, but they cannot replace emergency obstetric care when a mother’s life is at risk.
The concern is particularly acute in remote communities where health facilities are already difficult to reach.
The hidden cost of delayed treatment
For families committed to their faith, leaving a religious setting to seek medical assistance can be a difficult decision.
Community advocates say some women may fear condemnation, rejection or other spiritual consequences if they abandon established religious practices.
By the time complications become impossible to manage at home or at a shrine, precious hours may have been lost.
That delay can mean the difference between life and death.
Ruremekedzo’s case has therefore become more than an individual tragedy. It raises uncomfortable questions about how many other women may be facing similar circumstances away from the public eye.
A crisis beyond the delivery room
The problem cannot be separated from the wider challenges facing maternal healthcare in rural Zimbabwe.
Long distances to clinics, transport costs, shortages of health personnel and limited emergency services can all contribute to delays in receiving treatment.
Religious practices that further delay access to professional care can compound those challenges.
For CRRT, the issue is not about attacking religion, but about protecting the lives and rights of women.
The organisation has been documenting cases and engaging communities and policymakers on maternal health, while advocating for greater awareness of the dangers associated with delayed medical intervention.
Zimbabwe’s Constitution recognises the right to healthcare, adding a human-rights dimension to the debate.
Finding common ground
The challenge for authorities and health advocates is to address harmful practices without alienating the religious communities whose beliefs are deeply rooted in Zimbabwean society.
According to CRRT, a sustainable response will require dialogue involving health authorities, Apostolic church leaders, traditional leaders, women’s rights organisations and communities themselves.
“Religious leaders can play an important role in encouraging pregnant women to seek antenatal care, deliver at appropriate health facilities and obtain emergency medical attention when complications arise.
“The message does not have to be faith versus medicine.It can be faith working alongside medicine to protect life,”argues CRRT.
Remembering Ruremekedzo
For Ruremekedzo’s family, however, these debates came too late.At just 16, her life ended while giving birth , a moment that should have marked the beginning of motherhood rather than the end of her own life.
Her story has forced a difficult conversation in Chipinge: how can communities protect religious freedom while ensuring that no woman or girl is denied timely, life-saving maternal healthcare?
As advocacy groups continue to raise the alarm, Ruremekedzo’s death stands as a painful reminder that childbirth should never become a choice between faith and survival.
For Zimbabwe’s rural women, the right to give birth safely must remain non-negotiable.