Abstract:
The COVID-19 period caused a lot of suffering globally, as millions lost their lives while others
went through the pain of being infected. The introduction of vaccines to minimise chances of
infection and death was a welcome development. However, it was also fraught with its own
challenges in the area of sexual health and rights of both women and men. Scholarship on
gender and religion noted the way women failed to access contraception in a period in which
sexual activity had increased as most couples were together for long periods of time. The
introduction of vaccines was accompanied by a lot of misinformation. Lack of clarity on the
effect of the vaccines on pregnant and lactating mothers caused a lot of anxiety. This was
exacerbated by the information that was being circulated on social media platforms that the
vaccines would interfere with individuals’ reproductive capacity. Yet African religio-cultural
beliefs and practices place so much importance on both women and men’s ability to have
children. In fact, one’s respectability in African indigenous societies is greatly linked to their
ability to have children. This article seeks to examine the fears of some Zimbabweans to accept
COVID-19 vaccines, establishing how these fears were tied to issues of sexual reproductive
health and rights. The article focuses on showing how the terrain of sexual health and rights is
a sensitive one which called for caution in a COVID-19 context in Zimbabwe. Data for the
article were gathered through informal interviews and social media platforms.
CONTRIBUTION : The article makes a significant contribution to the way COVID-19 interfaced
with issues to do with SRHR in Zimbabwe.
