Photo: Mujahid Safodien/IRIN. Child marriages keep young girls out of school
Source: IRIN
MBABANE, 29 January 2013 (IRIN) - The relief felt by health officials
and activists several months ago at the apparent outlawing of child
marriages now appears to have been premature, with Swaziland’s
traditional leadership recently declaring that such unions are
acceptable under customary law.
“I have not received any instructions that [‘kwendzisa’] [the custom of a
man marrying an underage girl] should be abolished,” Velebantfu Mtetwa,
the country’s top traditional leader, told the Swazi press. As governor
of Ludzidzini royal village, where the traditional seat of government
is located, Mtetwa is known as Swaziland’s traditional prime minister.
Little attention was paid to the country’s traditional leadership last
year when the powerful royal counsellors to King Mswati III said they
would review the Child Protection and Welfare Act of 2012 and, if need
be, raise objections.
Instead, attention was focused on Deputy Prime Minister Themba Masuku’s declaration
that any man found to contravene the act by marrying a girl under the
age of 18 faced arrest and prosecution. The marriages would be annulled
and the former husband could be fined R10,000 (US$1,100). A man guilty
of raping a girl faces a R20,000 (US$2,200) fine and prison term of up
to 20 years. King Mswati, a strict traditionalist, approved the law in
September 2012.
Damaging to girls
UNICEF estimates
that, globally, about 70 million women aged 20-24 were married before
reaching 18 years old. Of these, some 23 million were been married
before turning 15. The consequences of child marriage can be life
threatening: 50,000 girls aged 15-19 die of pregnancy- and
childbirth-related causes each year.
The child protection act notes that children forced into marriage face
serious psychological and social damage, and that girls’ educations tend
to cease as they take up household duties.
Activists have welcomed the law, which is seen as a means of curbing HIV
transmission. “The longer young women put off childbirth, the more
likely they are to stay in school and, of course, avoid HIV,” said
Sophia Mukasa Monico, country representative for UNAIDS.
“Such practices spread AIDS and contribute to Swaziland having the
highest HIV prevalence in the world. It’s unfortunate that AIDS
activists appear to be ‘anti-culture’ because, as Swazis, we love our
culture. But some practices need reforming, and this seems impossible to
do,” said Sylvia Dube, director of an AIDS testing and counselling
centre.
Law made powerless
But the new statutory law, originating in the cabinet and passed by
parliament, has been rendered powerless by the superiority of Swazi Law
and Custom if a man chooses to marry in a traditional ceremony. The law
appears now to apply only to “Westernised” Swazis who wed in civil
ceremonies before a magistrate after having acquired a marriage license.
Swazi Law and Custom has never been written down but is interpreted by
traditional leaders whose primary authority is Mtetwa. Cabinet
officials, including Deputy Prime Minister Masuku, are appointed from
the recommendations of royal counsellors, and these politicians are
aware of their power relative to the country’s traditional authorities.
Mtetwa came out with the traditionalists’ stance on child brides
following the arrest of a local soccer star for the rape of a 14
year-old girl. The accused stated that the girl was his bride, and that
their families had agreed to the marriage. “If the parents and the girl
have agreed, the authorities never penalize anyone,” Mtetwa said.
In terms of modern law, an underage girl cannot make such a decision.
But in terms of tradition, she also has no say because marriages are
arranged between families by the girls’ parents or older relatives. In
addition, official records for traditional marriages can be incomplete
because many go unreported.
With no national awareness campaign to educate Swazis about the Child
Protection and Welfare Act, it remains unclear whether Swazi girls are
aware of their rights. People who choose to challenge such unions have
nowhere to go to lodge a complaint.
“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 man,” said Maureen Littlejohn, communications officer for
the Swaziland Action Group Against Abuse, an NGO that counsels survivors
of gender-based and child violence. Littlejohn noted that poor families
are often influenced by gifts of cattle and money to give up their
daughters.