Women In Zimbabwe Challenge Ban Against Sex Toys

A Zimbabwean non-profit organisation is challenging a ban on the importation of sex toys, saying that the move violates women’s right to sexual pleasure.

After her divorce, Sitabile Dewa, a 35-year-old women’s rights activist, decided to challenge the "archaic" law of the country that bans the use of sex toys.

Dewa claims that in a conservative country like Zimbabwe, divorced women and single mothers are considered undesirable partners, so they seek to derive pleasure from sex toys. However, the country’s law has imposed a legal ban on sex toys, considering them indecent, obscene, and detrimental to public morals.

Zimbabwe Ban On Sex Toys

Importation or Possession of sex toys is illegal under the Zimbabwean "censorship and entertainment control" law, and women can go to prison for owning sex toys in the African country.

Dewa feels that she shouldn’t be deprived of her agency for self-exploration and indulging in self-gratification. She filed papers in court in March suing the Zimbabwe government for the ban on sex toys and seeking to have parts of the ban revoked. She believes that the ban is repressive and infringes on her freedom.

According to the Associated Press report, two women were arrested over the possession of sex toys last year in the country. One of them was sentenced to six years in prison or 640 hours of community service for selling sex aids to women and for providing advice on how to use sex toys.

Women’s rights campaigners support Dewa and say that it’s part of a larger challenge where women’s choices, including marriage, contraception, what they wear, etc., are all scrutinised by the country’s patriarchal mindset. Dewa’s campaign to legalise sex toys aligns with the larger picture of women in Zimbabwe being "tired of oppression" and forward-thinking.

Debra Mwase, a programme manager with Katswe Sistahood, a group that campaigns for women’s rights, noted that sexually liberated women threaten men who dominate the country’s political, cultural, and social spaces. She added that sex is not really seen as a thing for women and is only perceived as something for men to enjoy. For women, it’s only essential for childbearing. This statement is absolutely relatable to women living in patriarchal societies that prevent women from exercising autonomy over their bodies.

Women's Right To Explore Their Sexuality

Women could masturbate and use sex toys just to satisfy themselves, explore their sexuality, and understand their bodily needs. But how does society describe women who masturbate? "Characterless," "uncultured," and "desperate." Why isn’t society understanding that women too are human beings with bodily needs and have an agency for self-pleasure?

Slut-shaming women stems from the idea that women need men to experience sexual pleasure. In a way, patriarchy is trying to regain its hold over women because it perceives them as sexual objects. So, if women begin claiming ownership of their bodies and sexuality, and if they are able to satisfy themselves, what leverage will patriarchy have on women to appease their sexual needs?

Hence, a patriarchal society looks down upon women who seek self-pleasure. They are shamed and judged for being desperate. But why should women be dependent on men for pleasure? Don’t single women deserve to enjoy sexual pleasure? Why shouldn’t women in a relationship still want to explore their bodies with sex toys? 

It’s refreshing to see women breaking the stereotypical outlook and fighting to take autonomy of their bodies. While they continue to challenge the system, what will it take for society to normalise women reclaiming their rights to explore their sexuality?

Views expressed by the author are their own

Suggested Reading: Women Masturbate Because They Enjoy It, Not Because They Are Lonely