Children’s Rights versus Cultural Expectations: A Path to Cultural Compatibility in Zimbabwe

Sonile Gwede

Midlands State University, Zimbabwe

Email: gwedes@staff.msu.ac.zw

Abstract: The promotion of children’s rights is a critical issue in many countries in general and Zimbabwe is no exception. International frameworks such as the Convention on the rights of the child emphasise children’s rights to autonomy, education, health and dignity yet culture dictates traditional ways of raising children which may digress from universalised children’s rights. Harmonising cultural expectations and children’s rights calls for a strategy that respects culture while protecting children’s wellbeing and development. Thus, this paper explores cultural expectations on children’s rights in Zimbabwe. The paper thus sheds light on challenges, progress made and ways to promote frameworks that balance the two for sustainable well-being of children. Using purposive sampling, the researcher selected twenty articles from Google scholar published between 2018 and 2024.The study established that there are some cultural practices that violate children’s rights. It was also revealed that children’s rights are viewed in a positive way in Zimbabwe. However, the rights are not aligned to Zimbabwean culture, thus not compatible with the norms and values of the Zimbabweans rendering them alien and irrelevant. Findings also showed that there was an overemphasis on children’s rights at the expense of responsibility. Therefore, there is need to shift from cultural practices that are harmful to children to practices that promote children’s wellbeing and development. The study also recommends that policy makers come up with a framework which harmonises children’s rights and culture in order for children to enjoy their rights while celebrating their cultural practices.