Harare — THE Domestic Violence Bill that seeks to provide for protection and relief to victims yesterday passed the committee stage in the House of Assembly with amendments.

The proposed law was referred to the Parliamentary Legal Committee for scrutiny on whether the amendments conform to the Constitution.

Some of the amendments were made to Clause 3 of the Bill which deals with the scope and definition of domestic violence that has attracted heated debated inside and outside Parliament.

This included inclusion of the term forced virginity testing and genital mutilation as constituting domestic violence.

The amendments were moved by Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Cde Patrick Chinamasa following wide consultations.

The minister said it was prudent to classify the cultural practices that were being outlawed and not leave this to courts, as this would pose problems.

To this end, the cultural practices that were being outlawed were forced virginity testing or female genital mutilation, pledging of women and girls for the purposes of appeasing spirits and forced marriages.

Others practices were forced wife inheritance and sexual intercourse between fathers-in-law and newly married daughters-in-law.

Cde Chinamasa said if there were any cultural practices that would need to be outlawed in future this would be done by way of amendments.

The minister also moved amendments for the deletion of the terms "jealousy" and "unreasonable denial of conjugal rights" as constituting domestic violence.

"Failure to perform or give conjugal rights is not a very easy aspect to enforce. Sending a husband to jail for lack of performance will not achieve a certain performance," he said amid laughter from the floor.

However, Cde Chinamasa said it was surprising that the majority of people who complained bitterly about the clause were men and not women.

"The debate around this clause has provided a serious insight into what is happening in several homes," he said.

Contributing to the debate, Glen Norah legislator Ms Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga (MDC) said men were against the provision criminalising unreasonable denial of conjugal rights because they had lost their sexual prowess.

"There is something wrong, men are suffering in silence. We want our men back to what they were," she said.

However, Cde Chinamasa hit back saying: "There is no problem on the dysfunctional of men. The problem is somewhere."

On the inclusion of the term forced virginity testing, Ms Mishairabwi-Mushonga said the word "forced" should be deleted, arguing that those who underwent virginity testing were minor children not able to consent to such practices.

Makoni East lawmaker Cde Shadreck Chipanga (Zanu-PF) said during consultations it was clear that people were in favour of criminalising forced virginity testing as opposed to virginity testing in general.

Cde Chipanga chairs the portfolio committee on Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs.

He said in his constituency there was no forced virginity testing as young girls volunteered to undergo such practices.

Deputy Minister of Health and Child Welfare Dr Edwin Muguti said virginity testing was essential as this was conducted in cases of rape and other sexual offences acts to establish whether a minor had been abused.

"If practiced with the correct intention it is useful," he said.

Other amendments to the proposed law included clarification that emotional, verbal, psychological and economic abuse shall not constitute an offence but be subject to counselling.

The proposed anti-domestic violence board would be transformed into a council mandated with promoting provision of services necessary to deal with all aspects of domestic violence, among other measures.