No more beating of children —Zimbabwe government said

Zimbabwe's High Court has outlawed corporal punishment
 for children both at school and in the home.

The ruling comes after a parent complained that her child
 in grade one, a class for six-year-olds, had deep bruises 
after a beating by a teacher.

Linah Pfungwa said her daughter had been punished for failing to have her reading book signed by guardians as 
proof she had done her homework.

The constitutional court will have to confirm the judgement.

A source in the capital, Harare, says if upheld, it
would transform the way parents have disciplined
 their children for centuries in the southern African 
country.

Some parents are criticising the ruling, while rights groups says it is long overdue, she says.

Ms Pfungwa, who filed her application with support from
 the Justice for Children's Trust, said her child was severely assaulted with a rubber pipe.

"My child suffered major bruises and I took photographs
 and pictures... She had deep bruises on her back and she could hardly sleep properly," the state-run Chronicle newspaper quotes her as saying .

"I posted the pictures of my daughter on our WhatsApp
 group for other parents to observe and it turned out that 
other children had also been assaulted."

In her application, Ms Pfungwa said that children should 
not be subjected to any form of violence and such corporal punishment breached their rights under Zimbabwe's Constitution.

She argued that other forms of discipline should be used 
for children.

"If my child misbehaves, I ground her by denying her 
access to television as well as denying her pocket money 
or other goodies like sweets and presents," she said.

"If she does well, I reward her by presents or extra hours 
of watching television.

"My child is well-behaved and well-brought up simply as a result of the dialogue that I use as a means of discipline."

Justice David Mangota agreed that corporal punishment for
children was unconstitutional and said that parents and teachers should not lay their hands on children even if they misbehave.