Agnes, 30, was only 16 and preparing for her Form Four examinations when she discovered she was two months pregnant.

Her boyfriend, who was also 16 at the time, rejected the pregnancy. She did not know where to seek sexual and reproductive health information or what options were available to her under Zimbabwean law.

“Growing up in a conservative family, my father passed away and my mother was a vendor. We were always told if you get pregnant, you will go and live with your husband.

“My boyfriend had rejected the pregnancy. I had nowhere to go. The only option was to get rid of the pregnancy, but how? I didn’t know how to do it,” Agnes said.

She quickly gathered information from others without disclosing that she was the one who needed to terminate a pregnancy.

She tried various traditional concoctions, including roots, barks and leaves from trees, but they did not help her.

“I even attempted to drink washing powder. I later found a herb that I inserted into my reproductive organs and started bleeding and lost the pregnancy.

“I bled for over seven days and I thought I was going to die. I hid it from my mother, who thought I was having menstrual cramps. I kept it a secret to this day,” she said.

Agnes survived, but the experience did not end when the bleeding stopped.

The Real Gap: Not Only Services, But Information

What Agnes lacked at 16 was not simply access to a safe procedure. She lacked information on where to find sexual and reproductive health services, how to seek help safely and what the law said.

Instead, she sought help from an elderly woman in the community, the wife of a traditional healer, who could not provide a safe solution.

That lack of information shaped the choices she believed were available to her.

Nearly 15 years later, would another 16-year-old girl in Zimbabwe know where to go?

What a 16-Year-Old Should Know — Even Before a Crisis

A teenager should be able to find clear answers on:

Where to find sexual and reproductive health rights information.

Where to seek help when pregnant, including counselling and antenatal care.

Where to seek post-abortion care when complications arise, regardless of how the abortion occurred.

What confidentiality means in healthcare.

What the Termination of Pregnancy Act says — and what it does not say.

What protections exist if a pregnancy results from sexual violence.

What support exists to help pregnant girls remain in school.

Agnes, now 30, says she still experiences abdominal cramps, which she believes are linked to the unsafe termination she underwent. She could have sought post-abortion care if she had known where to get help.

Unintended Pregnancy as a Gender Inequality Issue

Speaking during a media forum, Tinashe Mundawarara, Board Chairperson of the Health Law and Policy Consortium, framed unintended pregnancy through five layers of inequality: body, economy, power, violence and stigma.

For Agnes, these were reflected in her experience.

Body: Her bleeding, which lasted more than seven days, showed the dangers of unsafe termination methods.

Economy: She was preparing for her O-Level examinations. Pregnancy can derail educational opportunities and narrow lifetime opportunities.

Power: She lacked the basics that create choice, including money, information and a trusted adult.

Violence: For girls whose pregnancies result from rape, incest or coercion, the risks and vulnerabilities can be even greater.

Stigma: Agnes hid her bleeding because she feared stigma from the people around her.

Memory Kadau, a sexual and reproductive health rights advocate, also said stigma can drive people away even when policies are in place.

“The Education Act says it is now illegal for a school to expel or suspend a child on the basis of pregnancy, but how many parents would allow their kids near a pregnant pupil at school?

“The fear of stigma will push away from accessing the services they are required to get,” she said.

Laws on Paper, Clarity in Life

Zimbabwe’s Constitution includes protections often cited in sexual and reproductive health rights debates, including the right to health under Section 76 and children’s rights and the best interests of the child. But rights can only protect people who know how to use them.

The Termination of Pregnancy Act allows termination only under three circumstances, meaning a minor does not have automatic access simply because she is young or afraid.

The question is whether a girl in crisis can understand the law, reach a health facility and receive treatment with confidentiality and dignity.

Mundawarara argues that abortion access for children under 18 should be considered a constitutional right and in the best interests of the child, given the potential complications.

These include obstetric fistula, eclampsia, pre-eclampsia and haemorrhage, among others.

Education policy matters too. If a teenage girl falls pregnant, what measures should be put in place to help her return to school and write her examinations?

With policies and laws evolving, Agnes wishes she had access to this information when she was 16.