Swazi Media Commentary: incest

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Thursday, 24 May 2018

‘URGENT NEED TO PASS SEX OFFENCES BILL’

Swaziland must urgently enact the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Bill, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) said in a report released on Thursday (24 May 2018).

The Bill which has been around in one form or another for at least 10 years has stalled at the Swaziland Senate.

The ICJ said there were many discriminatory practices in the kingdom based on customary laws and traditional beliefs undermining equality between men and women. It said this inequality promoted ‘patriarchy, which in turn perpetually promotes inequality resulting in prevalent violence’.

It said sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) was at ‘crisis point’ in the kingdom.

It added, ‘It has been reported that violence against female children is highly prevalent in Swaziland. It has been stated that, approximately one in three women experience some form sexual violence as a child; nearly one in four women experience physical violence as a child; and approximately three in ten women experience emotional abuse as a child.

‘Boyfriends and husbands are the most frequent perpetrators of sexual violence, and male relatives the most frequent perpetrators of physical violence, while female relatives are the most frequent perpetrators of emotional abuse.’

It added, one in three women experience some form of sexual violence by the time they reach the age of 18 years, while almost one in two (48 per cent) women experience some form of sexual violence in their lifetime.

Almost one in five (18.8 per cent) of women have been coerced into having sexual relations.

‘It has also been reported that at least 49.2 per cent of sex workers experience sexual violence and 33.5 per cent of these are reported to have been raped since the age of 18,’ the report added.

At present there are is no specific provision in the Swaziland Constitution that addresses SGBV, the ICJ said. ‘The lack of specific legislative provisions aimed at combating SGBV has made it difficult for authorities to combat and eradicate it,’ it added.

The SODV Act, ‘was first drafted over ten years ago, but it has still not been passed into law, specifically because there is a perception that four of its provisions will infringe on Swazi law and custom. It has been reported that: “It has been argued that some clauses in the bill would hinder Swazi cultural practices”.

‘The preservation of culture is the crutch upon which traditionalists are relying on to ensure that the Bill is not passed.

‘The provisions in question pertain to:

‘• Abduction – clause 42 seeks to protect children (anyone under the age of 18) from child marriages, sexual acts, harmful rituals or sacrifices and any other unlawful purpose. In terms of Swazi law and custom, a girl becomes of marriageable age at puberty, regardless of the child’s age when reaching this stage.

‘• Incest – clause 4 of the Bill clearly specifies the classes of relatives that may not be involved in sexual relations. There is a concern among traditionalists that the classes as between uncle, aunt, nephew or niece are too broad within the Swazi context, particularly because of the extensiveness of the recognised extended family structure.

‘• Flashing – the nature of Swazi traditional attire is such that there is some display of flesh. For example, during the reed dance, young maidens and girls go around bare-chested with their breasts in full display and wearing short beaded skirts that show off their buttocks, potentially in violation of clause 47 of the Bill. The Constitution, however, protects the right to privacy as well as dignity.

‘• Unlawful Stalking – under Swazi culture, a woman may be proposed to relentlessly no matter how many times she may refuse the proposals. Traditionalists perceive this type of courting as likely prohibited under clause 10 of the proposed law.’

The ICJ said Swaziland had international human rights obligations and commitments on SGBV. The kingdom which is ruled by King Mswati III as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, has signed up to but not implemented the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, and the Protocol to that Charter on the Rights of Women in Africa (the Maputo Protocol).

The ICJ reported that surveys in Swaziland on attitudes towards domestic violence demonstrated strong support for traditional gender roles, high levels of rape-supportive attitudes and tolerant attitudes for violence.

‘For example, only 51 per cent of men have been surveyed as believing that a woman may refuse to have sexual intercourse with her husband, while 88 per cent believe a woman should obey her husband and 45 per cent believe a husband has a right to punish his wife if she does something he deems is wrong.’

Tuesday, 22 May 2018

SEX OFFENCES BILL STILL NOT PASSED

Swaziland’s controversial Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence (SODV) Bill may not become law unless it is passed before the forthcoming election.

The Bill has been around in some form since 2009.

An election is due later this year at a date yet to be set by King Mswati III, who rules as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch. If a bill is not completed by the end of a parliament it is usually shelved. It is one of six bills yet to be finalised.

The Bill has been passed by the House of Assembly and is now in the Senate. A Council of Chiefs also has to study the Bill to advise the King on matters relating to Swati Law and Customs.

SODV has caused controversy among traditionalists. The Swazi Observer identified three areas of concern. 1. Flashing – as an act of revealing of private body parts to another person or other people without their consent. ‘This caused an uproar from traditionalists, who were worried that people wearing traditional regalia could be classified under people who could be considered to be flashing,’ the newspaper reported in April 2018.

2. Abduction – This is forcibly taking someone away against their will. ‘Traditionalists also raised their concerns here, saying at times, this could be used against people who have taken their loved ones to stay with them for some time at a certain place,’ the newspaper said.

3. Stalking – This is an unwanted or obsessive attention by an individual or group towards another person. ‘Traditionalists asked for protection on this issue, saying at times, they would not be able to propose love to ladies because this could be considered as stalking. Sometimes, a lady does not readily give in to a proposal by a man. Therefore, it would be difficult to determine if a lady was interested or not,’ the Observer reported.

Marital rape is an other areas that concerns traditionalists. At a meeting of the Deputy Prime Minister’s Portfolio Committee, senators heard that marital rape was a ‘homewrecker’. Senator Moi Moi Masilela said it could open floodgates for women to abuse the law, the Times of Swaziland reported.

Senator Chief Kekela said if the Bill passed into legislation without amendment, Swazi men in polygamous marriages would find themselves getting arrested. The Times reported, ‘Chief Kekela said out of rage, a woman in a polygamous marriage could end up using it against her husband to spite him. He said jealousy prevailed in most of the marriages as the women always have demands they make to their husbands and always want attention.’

In 2013, a 317-page document called The Indigenous Law and Custom of the Kingdom of Swaziland (2013) was presented to King Mswati. It said that under Swazi Law and Custom a husband could legally rape his wife or his lover.

Under Chapter 7, which addresses offences (emacala) in Swaziland, rape is said to be committed only if the woman forced is not the man’s wife or lover.

In April 2018, the International Commission of Jurists urged Swaziland to pass the SODV Bill without delay to meet its obligations under regional and international human rights laws to criminalise and sanction the perpetrators of sexual and gender-based violence.

Saturday, 14 October 2017

SEX BILL HIGHLIGHTS CULTURE ISSUES

Women’s rights campaigners in Swaziland appear to have won a small victory on the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Bill (SODV).

A report to the Swazi House of Assembly recommended scrapping four clauses in the Bill that dealt with incest, unlawful stalking, abduction and flashing.

In the Bill, stalking was defined as loitering near, contacting a person in anyway; including but not limited to telephone, mail, fax email or through use of technology. Any intimidating, harassing or threatening act against a person whether or not involving violence or a threat of violence was also defined as stalking.

The clause that defined flashing as the exposure of or display of genital organs and female breasts among others was said to seriously undermine the Swazi tradition of dressing (imvunulo) and other practices. Each year thousands of bare-breasted women dance in front of King Mswati III at the Reed Dance.

The clause on incest, described as an act of sexual penetration or attempts with a person’s offspring or sibling, parent, grandparent, uncle, aunt, nephew or niece was said to be too broad-ranging. The committee report said there were already laws that covered these offences.

An outcry developed on the streets and in the pages of the kingdom’s only two daily newspapers when it was said that the clauses went against traditional Swazi culture.

In an editorial comment, the Times of Swaziland, the kingdom’s only independent daily newspaper, said, ‘If MPs go ahead with this, they ought to be aware that they are just about to officially brand Swazi culture as a tool to suppress women and girls in this country. This is not an image we wish for ourselves when the world is pushing aggressively for gender equality and the protection for women and girls.’

Within a week the clauses were reinstated. The future of the SODV Bill is unclear since parliamentary procedure might mean it cannot be discussed again until next year. The SODV Bill in one form or another has been going through parliament since 2009.

The controversy has once again highlighted the abuses that women and girls suffer under Swazi traditional law and custom.

In 2013, a 317-page document called The Indigenous Law and Custom of the Kingdom of Swaziland (2013) was presented to King Mswati III who rules Swaziland as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch. It said that under Swazi Law and Custom a husband can legally rape his wife or his lover.

Under Chapter 7, which addresses offences (emacala) in Swaziland, rape is said to be committed only if the woman forced is not the man’s wife or lover.

In 2015, a report from a US organisation ABCNewspoint stated that Swaziland had the fourth highest rate of rape in the world. It said there were 77.5 registered cases of rape among 100,000 people.

Rape and sexual abuse of children is common in Swaziland. In 2008, Unicef reported that one in three girls in Swaziland were sexually abused, usually by a family member and often by their own fathers - 75 percent of the perpetrators of sexual violence were known to the victim.

Many men in Swaziland believed was all right to rape children if their own wives were not giving them enough sex. In 2009, men who were interviewed during the making of the State of the Swaziland Population report said they ‘“salivate” over children wearing skimpy dress codes because they are sexually starved in their homes.’

In 2009, a study of Swazi cultural practices, funded by the United Nations Population Fund, found, ‘In Swazi culture, decision making has traditionally been a male prerogative. Family planning decisions, therefore, lie with the man.

‘Women report that they have been subjected to continuous child birth by their husbands or in-laws against their will.’

Another cultural factor is a preference (which is sometimes made into a demand by in-laws) for a woman to bear a boy child. Unwanted pregnancies result as the birth of a girl child is immediately followed by an effort to have a male heir who by traditional law is of the only sex that can lead a family into its next generation.

So strong are these beliefs, coupled with an antipathy toward condom use, that AIDS prevention efforts directed at women haven’t made much headway, according to the report.

In the study, Swazi men strongly defended the practice of kungena, whereby a widow becomes the wife of the deceased man’s brother; a practice that health groups say spreads HIV. Swazi men also defended polygamy as a cultural necessity.

But men also lamented cultural practices they said could stop the spread of HIV, like kuhlawula, whereby men or boys who impregnate unmarried women are fined five cows by their community elders, are no longer enforced.

Several Swazi customs were once in place to ensure that young people stayed chaste until marriages. At the time, marriages were usually arranged between families as forms of alliances. Until the traditional ceremony was completed, young people were not allowed to have sex.

One taboo was the people did not engage in sex outside their age groups. Boys were subject to ridicule by their contemporaries if they were known to sleep with older women.

Now, Sugar Daddies and Sugar Mamas are common. It is not even sexual attraction that draws the youngest of the partners to such relationships, but the lure of money.

In previous Swazi generations, girls’ sexual debuts were delayed through such customs as umcwasho, when all the nations’ girls of certain ages were forbidden to engage in sex for designated periods.

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