N AT I O N A L I N Q U I R Y R E P O R T ZIMBABWE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION For Human Dignity child. In cases of desertion and abandonment of children born out of wedlock by fathers, the DRG’s Procedure Manual provides that where the whereabouts of the father are unknown, the mother is free to register the child in her maiden name. This fails to take into consideration the reality in the Zimbabwean community where unregistered customary marriages are considered valid as much as registered marriages. Women with children born out of wedlock should be enabled by the law to register children in the name of their father in cases where the fathers have deserted or abandoned them and the paternal relatives are present to confirm the desertion and abandonment for example, in unregistered customary unions and cohabitations. Based on the findings of the National Inquiry, some women highlighted challenges they encounter in registering children in their maiden names where the paternal relatives who can confirm and give the notice of birth of such children are available. In addition to death, the grounds upon which the father can register, that is to say abandonment and desertion of the child by the mother, must be made available to the mothers who by nature of their unregistered marriages can have the supporting evidence in the form of confirmations by paternal relatives to facilitate registration in the father’s name. 32 32