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Andile Tshuma

Imagine wanting so much to opt out, but being hindered by your bank account. Opting out has become too expensive; as a matter of fact, beyond the reach of many.

Certain services should be made affordable even for the poorest in society.

Zimbabweans on Monday woke up to a shocker when the Law Society of Zimbabwe announced its new legal fees.

The society has revised upwards legal fees for its members which will see members of the public paying up to ZWL$5 250 per hour for legal services and at least ZWL$18 000 to file for a divorce.

According to the new tariffs, uncontested divorce with or without consent paper, with minimal negotiations and including appearance in Court, where necessary, will now cost a plaintiff ZWL$18 000 and a defendant ZWL$12 000.

 Such charges are already hindering the less fortunate from seeking legal services.

Will victims of multiple forms of abuse, both male and female in these marriages afford to opt out? Or is the system forcing them to stay in.

Legal fees must never be so steep such that a greater chunk of a society is left out in the cold. Economists say that the average Zimbabwean earns less than ZWL$300 a month.

When a marriage reaches that point when differences are irreconcilable, everyone should be able to walk out without having to break an arm and a leg.

Speaking to some ladies during the week, as the talk in many circles was the new divorce fees, some people said they would go as far as approaching banks for bank loans just to be able to walk out of trouble.

However, ideally, one should be able to walk out of a marriage and still have the capacity to start over. But if one finds themselves in debt just for trying to walk out, depression is almost sure to sink in when the person tries to live again, post marriage.

Gender activists have blasted the new development, saying it seeks to reverse the gains made so far in attempting to address inequality in Zimbabwe.

Mrs Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga, gender activist and legislator, said the high legal fees imposed were likely to deny many women access to justice.

“Access to justice has always been difficult for women due to an interplay of many issues.  However, with the new legal costs coming in, it means that these divorce costs are putting a cost to freedom. High fees that hinder people from accessing them are actually a direct violation of human rights to freedom, justice and equal treatment,” she said.

“We actually need to look at our whole justice delivery system because it has been formulated in such a way that it favours those with material means. It is elitist and people who cannot afford legal representation usually lose out in cases because of the high costs of seeking justice,” she added.

She said women without economic muscle were most at risk as they would most probably consent to divorce without contesting due to financial constraints.

“Men will now divorce knowing that women will not have a way of fighting back. She will be thrown out of the house and do nothing much about it as she has been disempowered by the high cost of seeking justice. I say this because based on statistics, the majority of women do not initiate divorce, unless it is in really bad situations. It has always been difficult, it has just gotten worse,” she said.

Divorce by its very nature is not an easy process to undergo, aside from the fact that there are legal costs which need to be met for the procedure to be finalised, it also presents an emotional burden on the parties involved.

Its consequences affect the children, finances and the proprietary rights of the people untying the knot.

This year alone, over 200 people have committed suicide, with police citing marital disputes and other family challenges as the main reason.

A number of crimes of passion have also been committed, out of frustration from multiple sources.

Almost every day in the newspaper is sad reading of spouses who would have been killed by their partners in cold blood and as a result, more and more children are plunged into poverty.

Children left behind no longer have a mother or father to guide, protect or love them. They are hungry, lonely, afraid, and open to abuse by relatives and society. Their lives become an uphill task as they face the greatest challenges on the face of the earth.

With society already scarred like this by so many factors, such divorce fees will only compel people to stay together.  However, the odds of matters ending well are quite low.

The situation in the country as far as legal costs are concerned will force people to no longer be bound by love, but by prohibitive costs of dissolution of marriage.

From the costs announced, it looks like tying the knot will be way cheaper than untying it, should need arise.

Recently, the Officer Commanding Matabeleland South province, Commissioner Patson Nyabadza revealed that crime was up in the province by 15 percent, with crimes of passion by jilted lovers often leading, alongside stock theft.

He shared that people lacked counselling, leading to violent crimes when couples failed to resolve issues.

One can therefore imagine a situation where a man and woman who have fallen out of love are forced to live together because they cannot afford to untie the knot.