Chipinge-In the quiet surroundings of Checheche Growth Point in Chipinge District, a 16-year-old girl, Ruremekedzo Sithole, went into labour with her life hanging in the balance.
Instead of being taken to a health facility, she gave birth at an Apostolic shrine.
She did not survive.
Ruremekedzo’s death has brought renewed attention to a growing maternal-health crisis in Chipinge, where some women and girls are giving birth at religious shrines instead of accessing skilled medical care.
For families caught between religious doctrine, community expectations and the need for emergency medical treatment, childbirth can become a dangerous journey.
According to the Chipinge District Medical Officer, 50 maternal deaths linked to Apostolic shrines have been recorded in the district over the past two months alone.
Behind the statistics are women whose deaths, advocates say, could have been prevented if they had reached health facilities in time.
When prayer replaces medical care
Across parts of rural Zimbabwe, some Apostolic and White Garment churches have established distinctive practices around pregnancy and childbirth.
For some members, pregnancy is viewed not only as a medical condition but also as a spiritual experience. Complications that require immediate medical intervention may instead be met with prayer, holy water or spiritual consultations.This can have deadly consequences.
Conditions such as postpartum haemorrhage, eclampsia and obstructed labour can deteriorate within minutes or hours. Without access to trained health workers, blood supplies, medicines or emergency obstetric procedures, the chances of survival can rapidly diminish.
In some communities, women are encouraged to deliver at religious sites under the supervision of spiritual attendants rather than skilled birth professionals.
The secrecy surrounding some of these practices makes the scale of the problem difficult to establish.
Advocates fear that official figures capture only a fraction of the deaths occurring in religious settings, particularly where families are reluctant to speak publicly about what happened.
The price of breaking with tradition
For women belonging to tightly knit religious communities, seeking medical attention can involve more than simply making a healthcare decision.
There can be social and spiritual consequences.
Some women fear being condemned by their religious communities for seeking hospital treatment. Others may face rejection or other sanctions for breaking with established church practices.
In extreme cases, advocates say, families may fear that seeking outside medical assistance could affect a deceased person’s funeral or burial arrangements.
For a woman experiencing a life-threatening complication, however, every delay can be critical.
By the time relatives decide to take her to a clinic or hospital, she may already have lost too much blood or suffered irreversible complications.
A constitutional question
The Chipinge crisis has also raised difficult questions about the relationship between religious freedom and the state’s responsibility to protect life and health.
The Chipinge Residents and Ratepayers Trust (CRRT) has been documenting cases involving maternal deaths at Apostolic shrines and calling for stronger community and government intervention.
The organisation argues that access to maternal healthcare is a fundamental right and points to Section 76(1) of Zimbabwe’s Constitution, which provides for the right to healthcare.
For CRRT, maternal deaths resulting from preventable delays in accessing emergency healthcare should not simply be treated as unfortunate incidents.
They are a question of rights, accountability and public health.
A growing movement for change
The challenge, however, is not simply about confronting religious communities.
CRRT reckons that Apostolic churches are deeply rooted in many Zimbabwean communities, and faith remains an important source of identity, social support and spiritual guidance for millions of people,so any attempt to address maternal deaths therefore requires engagement rather than blanket condemnation.
Health authorities, traditional leaders, religious organisations, community groups and women’s rights advocates all have a role to play in finding solutions that respect freedom of worship while ensuring that women and girls can access lifesaving healthcare.
Community education could help bridge the gap between religious beliefs and medical knowledge, particularly around danger signs during pregnancy and childbirth.
Religious leaders, meanwhile, could play a crucial role by encouraging congregants to seek skilled medical assistance when complications arise.
The objective need not be to replace faith with medicine, but to ensure that faith does not prevent a woman from receiving treatment when her life is at risk.
Remembering Ruremekedzo
For Ruremekedzo’s family, however, these broader debates came too late.
At 16, she should have had a future stretching far beyond the moment of childbirth.Instead, her name has become part of a disturbing conversation about maternal deaths, religious practices and access to healthcare in rural Zimbabwe.
Her story also raises a painful question: how many other women have died in similar circumstances without their stories ever reaching the public?
CRRT says it is mobilising communities, engaging policymakers and using advocacy to bring greater attention to the issue.
For the organisation, Ruremekedzo’s death must not become another statistic.
Her story should instead become a catalyst for change ,a reminder that religious freedom and the protection of life do not have to be opposing principles.
In a country where giving birth should be an occasion of hope, no woman or girl should have to choose between her faith and the medical care that could save her life.
