The Marriages Bill that is before us in this House, we had public consultations and people said a lot. I want to mention some of the things that were said including my opinion.
What I want to dwell on is on Section 79 which criminalises HIV and AIDS. This is an Act that is there; instead of protecting people it ended up being a challenge to a number of people. As we went around, we heard a lot of things.
I was born and named Perseverance Mlambo but now I am called Perseverance Zhou. My brother Mlambo Kaiboni was hurt by this Bill. As I speak, I am in pain. Yes, he was HIV positive but he agreed with his girlfriend that they would use protection.
The woman was not found to be HIV negative but this Act was used against my brother and he got arrested. Instead of dying of HIV and AIDS, he died from stress because of this Act.
The Act should be put in place to protect people but it was negatively used by those who are clever. Madam Speaker Maam, it is painful. As we went round, it was clearly reflected that people are in pain.
My brother died because of this Criminal Codification Act, especially in the courts, people use it in a negative manner, yet there was mutual consent for them to engage in sexual activity. He died in prison.
As we held our consultations, we realised that it affects many people. There are women who were affected because when they go to clinic when they are pregnant, they are tested and they come and inform their husbands. They are accused of transmitting the disease and the men rushes to go and report.
The HIV that is being talked about here which they say the wife has transmitted to them; is it red, green or purple? I am happy that people have said it should be decriminalised. It should not even be considered. It should be removed from the Marriage Bill. You can put it in other Acts where it fits because in the Marriage Bill, we are looking at the issue of marriage that people should engage in s_ex freely. So it should be removed.
Even when the Act is in place, it does not stop the spread of HIV and AIDS. People are now scared that once they mention that they are HIV positive. They will be prosecuted. They do not say out their results and they will never disclose their status.
It was also realised that Zimbabwe is the one that criminalises sexual activity when one is HIV positive yet our Constitution says that we should not discriminate but we are discriminating against people with HIV/AIDS. My request Madam Speaker is that this clause be removed.
The other thing that I want to talk about is on this Marriage Bill, some people were requesting that it should be more like a Bible. A Bible has so many chapters, New Testament and Old Testament, it is all in the Bible.
Once you open it, all is well but now the Acts pertaining to marriage are all over. You will find another Act that side, another one there, so we need to pool all the Acts relating to marriage to come under the Marriages Bills and be harmonised. With these few words, my request is that the Marriage Bill should proceed and be adopted. I thank you.