The
Swaziland Action Group Against Abuse (SWAGAA) has criticized traditionalists in
the kingdom who insist that underage girls can be made to marry.
The
group says most of these so-called marriages are forced on the girl and
sometimes it happens after she has been raped or fallen pregnant.
SWAGAA was
reacting after media reported King Mswati III’s right-hand man Timothy Velabo
(TV) Mtetwa said it was acceptable for girls aged 15 to take part in traditional
marriage known as kwendzisa if their
parents agreed and the child wanted to.
Mtetwa
said this knowing that in 2012 the Children’s Protection and Welfare Act was
passed in Swaziland which made it illegal to engage in sexual relationships
with girls under the age of 18.
In September
2012, he was reported saying traditionalists would apply for a review of the
Act if it was felt to collide with Swazi customs and traditions.
Mtetwa,
who is Ludzidzini Governor and popularly known as the ‘traditional prime
minister’ of Swaziland, is considered in the kingdom, ruled by King Mswati III,
sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, to be the ultimate authority on
traditional law and custom in the kingdom.
SWAGAA,
in a media statement, said, ‘What is most disturbing is the fact that most of
these “marriages” are forced, with the young girls having little or no say in
being married to much older men.
‘The
situation is often forced because the family wants to receive payment and if
sexual relations have occurred (usually forced upon the girl), the family wants
to save face. We have seen tragic stories in the newspaper recently involving
these types of marriages, from girls being forced to marry after being raped,
to getting pregnant and dropping out of school, to attempting suicide.’
It
added, ‘What these young girls are enduring in the name of “traditional
marriage” is a human rights violation. Swaziland has signed the Human Rights
Declaration and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Children’s
Protection and Welfare Act of 2012 received assent from King Mswati III to
protect the lives and dignity of all children in Swaziland.
‘Protecting
young Swazi girls from traditional marriages that they don’t want is a matter
of principle. It is not a complicated legal issue; it is simply a matter of
upholding human rights and Swazi law.’
SWAGAA
added that international conventions stated, ‘Where one of the parties getting
married is under 18, consent cannot always be assumed to be “free and full”’.
SWAGAA
said there were a number of ‘negative’ reasons why girls were forced into
traditional marriages, ‘such as the importance attributed to preserving family “honour”
usually where the girl child has fallen pregnant before marriage or whilst at
school.
‘There
is a belief that marriage safeguards against “immoral” or “inappropriate behavior”
which results in parents pushing their daughters into marriage well before they
are ready. A lot of it, though, is due to the failure to enforce laws.
Sometimes families are not even aware they are breaking the law.’
See
also
KING’S
MAN SUPPORTS CHILD BRIDES
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