Religious stigma: how Indigenous and Christian beliefs undermine the rights of disabled children and their mothers in Zimbabwe

The study presented in this article employed a qualitative research approach, guided by a phenomenological research design to explore Christianity and the African religions’ hostile beliefs towards mothers of children with disabilities in Zimbabwe and how they have violated the rights of Zimbabwean refugee mothers of disabled children before fleeing to the Western Cape Province of South Africa, to ascertain how disability studies can inform the study of religion to better understand the significance of denigration and exclusion by religions for processes of social order. Data were analysed thematically to identify recurring patterns related to religious stigma and rights violations. This article shows how Christianity and indigenous religions in Zimbabwe encourage the stigmatisation of people with disabilities by excluding them from societal activities and seeing them as objects of pity, hence leaving mothers with no societal support and losing hope and belief in religion.