A woman shows a selection of sex toys she sells to women in Zimbabwe, on Friday, June, 23, 2023. Zimbabwean woman Sitabile Dewa is challenging a sex toys ban in the country which she describes in court papers filed in March as "archaic" and "repressive" laws used to arrest women for having sex toys.
HARARE, Zimbabwe — Sitabile Dewa was content with her sex life when she was married, but after her divorce, she found her prospects for erotic pleasure rather bleak. In socially conservative Zimbabwe, divorced women and single mothers are often cast as undesirable partners for men, and in her frustration Dewa decided she wanted to use sex toys.“I should not be deprived of self-exploration and indulgence in self-gratification,” said Dewa, 35.
Part of Zimbabwe’s “censorship and entertainments control” law makes the importation or possession of sex toys illegal as they are deemed “indecent” or “obscene” and harmful to public morals. Owning sex toys can put a woman in prison. Dewa said the law is “archaic” and is challenging part of it in court on the basis that it is repressive and infringes on her freedom. She filed court papers in March suing the Zimbabwe government and seeking to have parts of the law repealed. The court is considering her case.